


Ghosts are sexist

by Marshy_17



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Archivist Sasha James, Blind Character, Canon Asexual Character, Everyone Is Alive, Multi, Nonbinary Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, POV Alternating, Sex-Repulsed Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, The Mechanisms Were The Archivist's College Band, What the Ghost? Podcast (The Magnus Archives)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marshy_17/pseuds/Marshy_17
Summary: What the Ghost is hosted by Georgie Barker and Melanie King, with commentary and research by Jon Sims. Researching 'war ghosts' leads them to the Magnus Archives. Some people are meant to be in your life, no matter what choices you make.
Relationships: Basira Hussain & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Bertie/Gunpowder Tim (The Mechanisms), Elias Bouchard/Peter Lukas, Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 253
Kudos: 486





	1. Drunk Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what happened this idea struck me about a week ago and it's now possessing me to write.

The haunting theme music of the podcast drifts off and then the upbeat voice of the host breaks the silence.

[Georgie] "Hello and welcome to today's episode of What the Ghost!" 

[Melanie] "In today's episode me and Georgie here will be discussing our visit and exploration of The Viaduct Tavern, found right here in London." 

[Georgie] "Thank you Melanie! Yes, last week we visited the Viaduct Tavern both during the evening while it was open and very excitedly in a behind the scenes tour after it was closed for the night!"

[Melanie] "Can confirm, it was a good pub. Great gin and the staff were nice. Eight out of ten, would drink there again." 

[Georgie] (Sounding amused.) "I mean that is why everyone is here, for your pub reviews! Why only 8 then?" 

[Melanie] "It was noisy when we went and was a bit cramped, so it was difficult to move around easily. But they did let Rufus in no problem."

[Georgie] "That's true, some places can be funny about dogs, even when they are Guide Dogs. But it was a bit cosy, I managed to stumble over a couple of times!"

[Jon] (from the background, clearly rolling his eyes.) "You could trip over your shadow though."

[Georgie] "Hey! Rude!"

(Sound of Jon and Melanie high fiving) 

[Melanie] (Teasing.) "and you don't even drink." 

[Georgie] (Chuckling.) "Right, we're moving on. Let's get into some history then shall we? The Tavern was opened in 1869 as a Gin palace, serving the locals which included the criminal classes and barristers and lawyers!"

[Melanie] "Yea being built next to a prison will do that." 

[Georgie] "Correct. It was built next to Newgate prison and basically had front row seats to the gallows, leading to lots of people claiming the area to be a hotspot for ghosts and paranormal experiences. 

[Jon] (Scoffs.) "No it's a bunch of drunks imagining things." 

[Melanie] "Damn, no need to be such a cynic. We haven't even started yet." 

[Jon] (Flatly.) "Ghosts aren't real Melanie." 

[Georgie] "Jon! Stop antagonizing her, we cannot have this argument every episode."

[Melanie] (Smugly.) "Yeah Jon. Let the professionals speak." 

[Georgie] (Sound of her hitting Melanie's arm.) "AS I WAS SAYING… There were some interesting people around the Tavern that we were hoping to contact."

[Melanie] "They sound like they'd be good drinking pals."

[Georgie] "Are we not good enough?" 

[Melanie] "You don't drink and Jon is… Well Jon." 

[Jon] "I'll have to go out drinking with my OTHER friends then." 

[Melanie] "You don't have enough friends to not invite me." 

[Georgie] "Play nice you two." 

[Melanie] "Fine. Tell me about the cool people in the gin palace then." 

[Georgie] "I'm glad you asked! So first of all, there is a bullet hole in one of the paintings, from a soldier that had a bit too much fun!" 

[Melanie] "See! Good drinking pals." 

[Jon] (Resigned.) "You'd definitely have been shot if you lived back then."

[Georgie] "As well as him, there are 'Signature Serves' which are based on the favourite cocktails of people in Newgate Prison for different crimes! 

[Melanie] "I made sure to try all the fun ones!" 

[Georgie] "Yea you could be arrested for a lot of stuff back then." 

[Melanie] "My favourite was the Sarah Westwood, who apparently got 5 years for stealing a bottle of sherry. Gin, Tonic, cucumber and a rose petal, my kind of drink." 

[Jon] "That is a very you crime." 

[Melanie] (Smirking.) "I'm not going to incriminate myself by commenting on that." 

[Georgie] "Very wise, don't want them locking you up!" 

[Melanie] "Aww you'd miss me?" 

[Georgie] "Course babe, who else would host this with me?" 

[Jon] "I am literally sat right here." 

[Georgie & Melanie] (In-sync.) "No."

[Jon] (Offended.) "What? Why? I could do it." 

[Georgie] "Well… to put it nicely…"

[Melanie] (Interrupting Georgie.) "You would scare everyone away, you would spend the entire time explaining away any evidence with increasingly bizarre theories." 

[Jon] "Oh because ghosts are a much saner theory."

[Georgie] "They are real, you know I've seen one."

[Jon] "I know you think you saw one. But you were stressed, it was late…" 

[Melanie] "Jon. You're being a dick again." 

[Jon] (Stuttering awkwardly.) "Sorry Georgie." 

[Georgie] "It's alright. But we've gone completely off topic now." 

[Melanie] "Right, so we were in a booth and in my research I'd found stories of drinks moving when their owners weren't paying attention. So, of course we tried to test it out. 

[Georgie] "Yes! We left them to look at the painting with a bullet hole and came back and they had moved!"

[Jon] "I'm telling you it was a member of staff or some drunk thinking they're funny." 

[Melanie] "Nope. Definitely a ghost."

[Georgie] "We checked with the staff and they hadn't seen anyone by our table while we were gone!" 

(Jon scoffs in the background.) 

[Melanie] (Taunting Jon.) "Plus I swear there was a cold patch when we sat back down. 

(A thump sounds in the background, as Jon drops his head onto the desk.) 

[Georgie] "So while we were sat there we also heard some weird thumps, however as the pub was still open we cannot confirm what caused them. 

[Melanie] "Ghosts." 

[Georgie] "But then once the pub closed for the night, we got our backstage tour!" 

[Melanie] "There's original cells from Newgate Prison down there!" 

[Georgie] "Yea it was creepy. They sent a shiver down my spine when we walked in there." 

[Melanie] "Ghostly possession." 

[Georgie] "There would be a lot of unsettled spirits down here." 

[Jon] "Wow a cellar was cold, what a shocker." 

[Georgie] "Shush you. It was a feeling not just the cold! There was an atmosphere in there." 

[Melanie] "Right so, after a bit of history we locked you in one of the cells to do your meditating with the spirits." 

[Jon] "Otherwise known as daring the ghosts to show themselves." 

(Cuts to audio of Georgie taunting and swearing at the 'ghosts'.)

[Georgie] "Well the nice approach didn't work!" 

[Jon] "Because you're talking to air."

[Melanie] "Nah me and Rufus did a circuit of the cellar and he definitely got a bad feeling about the place."

[Georgie] "His hackles were raised the whole way round."

[Melanie] "Right! And being a guide dog he doesn't get spooked easily!" 

[Georgie] (Cooing) "Yes you're a good boy aren't you, yes you are." 

[Melanie] "So having been around the spooky cellar we went up to the first floor rooms." 

[Georgie] "These were currently being used as stockrooms, however back in the day they were bedrooms, available to rent… (Suggestively) for the evening."

[Melanie] "So we decided to hold a bit of seance and to see if anyone wanted to talk to us." 

[Georgie] "The three of us sat in a circle holding hands and reached out to any of the girls would had worked up here." 

[Melanie] "During which I had the overwhelming urge to punch Jon."

[Jon] (Coughing and choking in surprise) "What did I do?!" 

[Melanie] (Casually) "Clearly I picked up on one of the girl's spirits, who thought you were a client. Obviously."

(Georgie giggling in the background) 

[Jon] "What?!... I'm not… aurgh…"

(Sound of paper being screwed up and whistling through the air." 

[Melanie] "Ow! Rude." 

[Georgie] (Still chuckling quietly) "After there were no obvious signs of activity we turned the spirit box on." 

[Melanie] "Jon's favourite piece of equipment." 

(Sounds of groans from Jon) 

[Georgie] "It's really not that bad! It has to be like that to allow the spirits to manipulate the sound." 

[Jon] (Sounding resigned) "You're not the one that has to listen to the audio trying to pick anything out, and then listen to it over and again during editing." 

[Melanie] (Brightly) "We should use it more often!" 

[Georgie] "Well while it was on, me and Melanie were explaining about how times have changed and women's rights have increased." 

[Melanie] "And how Georgie is actually Jon's boss!" 

(Cuts to audio of static and their voices, with occasional blips of random words.) 

[Georgie] "I'd also like to add, while we were doing this I felt a presence and saw a shadow move across the wall, even though the three of us were all sitting down." 

[Melanie] "What was the vibe?" 

[Georgie] "Pissed off old man."

[Melanie] "Well that explains why we didn't get any proof, sexist pig didn't want to talk to us." 

[Georgie] "Hey it's my job to be rude the ghosts!" 

[Melanie] "I'm rude to everyone." 

[Jon] "It's true, she threatens to stab me all the time." 

[Melanie] "Snitch!"

[Georgie] (Resigned) "No-ones stabbing anyone."

[Melanie] (With a sigh) "Fine." 

[Georgie] "So with that I think that concludes our ghost hunt at the Viaduct Tavern! Any final words? 

[Jon] "Ghosts aren't real." 

[Melanie] "Wrong, ghosts are sexist." 

[Georgie] "Thank you very much. If any of you have any questions come talk to us on our socials, which is @WhatTheGhost on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tag your questions with #WTGQuestions and any ghostly experiences with #GhostHunt for your chance to be featured in our show. 

[Melanie] "See you ghost hunters next time." 

[Georgie] "Bye." 

The closing podcast music drifts in then, before the closing declarations of rights and licenses starts. Jon jumps in their seat when they feels someone flick their forehead. Their eyes look up from the recording on their laptop to Georgie grinning down at them. Rolling their eyes, they pull the headphones off their head. "What do you want?" They say impatiently. 

Grabbing the laptop off their lap, she grins. "Stop working! It's ready! Come watch Bake Off with me." She whines, raising the laptop over her head out of Jon's reach. 

Jon tries to leap up to grab it, but Georgie dances out of reach, using her height to her advantage. Glaring at her, Jon crosses their arms over their chest. They stare at each other for a minute, silently conversing. "Fine. But I get cuddles from the Admiral." Jon finally agrees. 

Letting out a celebratory whoop, Georgie grins and hands him back the laptop. "Save anything you need to and then get your butt on the sofa." She tells them firmly. Holding their hands up in submission, Jon agrees, grabbing the laptop back out of her grasp. She walks out of the office, down to the living room. Jon quickly saves the recording of the podcast, knowing better than to come between Georgie and Bake Off. Shuffling down the stairs they stretch their back out, with a few satisfying (if worrying) cracks and pulls their hair out of the tight bun. Shaking it out, it falls down on their shoulders and they run their hands through it, feeling some of the stress drain out of them already. 

In the living room, Georgie is already curled up on the sofa with a blanket, a glass of wine and the Admiral curled up next to her. She hands Jon a glass of wine as they sit. They curl up under the blanket together and the Admiral pads up, purring. He climbs up onto Jon's lap and starts kneading their lap. "Hello sir." Jon coos, scruffing behind his ears. His forehead presses into Jon's chest with a happy purr. "No Melanie?" They ask, not looking up from the Admiral. 

A camera shutter clicks, making them look up to Georgie grinning at her phone screen. "No she's got a headache." She says. Chuckling at her phone, before turning the screen and showing them an image of the two of them curled up under a blanket, Jon's hair hanging in long waves and the Admiral staring at Jon lovingly from their lap. "Look how cute you are!" She coos. 

Jon rolls their eyes, but a soft smile creeps on their face at the picture. "Whatever. Start the programme won't you." They say, failing at sounding irritated at her. She grins and grabs the remote, pressing play and resting her head on Jon's shoulder. 


	2. Ghosts of self-esteem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight TW that Jon gets unintentionally missgendered in this chapter. 
> 
> But we got the Archive crew now!!

Squeezing between the other customers in the pub, Tim raises the drinks triumphantly. "Here you go lads! Get that down you." He says, passing them the drinks and sliding into the booth next to Sasha. Martin stutters out a thank you and grips the glass nervously. "Don't look so worried Martin, it's Friday, we deserve a break!" Tim teases. 

Sasha elbows him in the side. "What am I that tough of a boss?" She teases. 

"You are a joy to be around, but you do try and make me do work… ON A REGULAR BASIS, so yes." Tim explains to her with a bright grin on his face. He takes a big drink of his brightly coloured cocktail and raises his eyebrows at the other two in challenge. 

Picking up her gin and lemonade, Sasha looks at Tim and starts downing her glass without breaking eye contact. Tim cheers, but Martin notices the slight flush on his cheeks now. "Come on then Martin, your turn." Sasha teases, as she looks at his barely touched vodka and coke. 

Flushing awkwardly, Martin has a sip of his drink. "I am not going to let you two peer-pressure me into getting alcohol poisoning!" He jokes and Sasha and Tim laugh. 

Clinking their glasses together Tim and Sasha smirk. "Get a few drinks in you and drunk Martin will be doing shots like the best of us!" Sasha teases. 

Choking on the sip of drink he'd just taken, Martin laughs. "That's unrelated. Drunk me is stupid." He says. 

Slamming his cocktail down on the wooden table, and gasps dramatically. "I will not hear this slander about drunk Martin! He is the best!" He demands. Sasha nods seriously next to him. 

Pale skin flushing bright pink, Martin seems to shrink into himself slightly with an unsure smile. "He's so happy and gives the best hugs!" Sasha exclaims, leaning her head onto Tim's shoulder and wrapping her arm around his waist.

Smiling at their words Martin relaxed slightly. "I mean, I think we're both agreed either of us would take Martin home with us if you wanted." Tim tells him, glancing at Sasha in confirmation and then winking at Martin. Which only increases his blush. 

Laughing, Martin gulps down his drink to delay the inevitable. "Well Sasha is definitely not my type I'm afraid." He awkwardly confirms. Sasha cries out in faux sadness, clutching her hands to her heart. 

Meanwhile Tim cheers. He blows a kiss at Martin across the table. "Well on that note, I'll get the next round in!" Sasha says, squeezing past Tim to get out of the booth. Pausing at the end of the table, Sasha leans back towards them. "What monstrosity are you drinking at the moment?" She asks Tim, glancing at the remnants of the red cocktail. 

"Sex on the beach, duh." Tim says, winking at Martin. Sasha laughs and shakes her head at him and heads to the bar. Tim's eyes follow her as she walks away. Once she's at the bar, he glances back at Martin, who is looking slightly petrified. "I know I know, we work together, blah blah blah… doesn't mean you're not hot" He says waving a hand around carelessly. Martin chuckles in relief and embarrassment, downing his remaining drink. "But now you've gotta tell me, who would be your type?" He says, leaning over the table and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Eyes widening in surprise, Martin shrugs. "You didn't even look around!" Tim says accusingly. 

Groaning in resignation, Martin turns slightly in his seat so that he can see the other people in the bar. Elbow on the table, he rests his chin on his fist and glances quickly from person to person. "I don't know, no-one stands out at the moment." Martin says. 

"What about him? With the muscles?" 

"No Tim." 

"Him? He's got that nerdy vibe going on?"

"No."

"That guy?" 

"No!" 

"Hmm, that guy? With the long hair?"

"No… Huh… erm… what…" Martin says, words tumbling out of him as he takes in the long brown hair of the guy Tim's just pointed out. They're wearing a tight pair of skinny jeans and has a black leather jacket on over their shoulders, but it's their smile that actually catches his attention. They're laughing at something and their face just lights up and Martin can feel the desire to be the person to make them smile like that. 

"I think we found a yes!" Tim crows, interrupting Martin's daydreaming. He startles and turns in his chair away from them so that he is facing Tim and cannot be tempted to continue to stare at them.

Pushing Tim across the booth, Sasha slips back into her seat pushing their drinks at them. "What's a yes?" She asks. Martin's mouth hangs open, but doesn't manage to form any words. 

Glancing between the two of them in confusion, Sasha gives them a look. Tim grins manically, causing Martin to sigh and grab his new drink needing more alcohol to deal with the pair of them. "I found out Martin's type!" Tim crows, bouncing up and down in his seat. 

Eyes widening, her eyes light up at the prospect of gossip and new information. "Oooh do share!" She says happily. 

Sliding his new glass across the table toward him, he takes a sip of the bright cocktail, savouring the increased suspense he's creating. "Well… you see that guy over there? In the corner, with the long hair?" Tim says, leaning onto her shoulder and following her gaze to them. 

The complete lack of subtlety makes Martin wince, dropping his head onto his hands, falling into a heap on the table. "Really?" She questions "He looks grumpy." 

Sitting back up in a hurry, Martin swivels in his seat so that he is facing them again. He realises that Sasha is indeed correct and a grumpy expression is on their face now. He struggles to merge the two conflicting images in his head. "He looked happy a minute a go." He says half heartedly. 

Sasha hums sounding unconvinced. Tim watches them and tilts his head in thought. "I can see it. He's kind of hot." He tells them, eyes raking up and down the mysterious person who has so piqued Martin's interest. 

Huffing in amusement, Sasha rolls her eyes and picks up her drink. "Remember Martin called dibs." She teases. 

"I'm not going to actually talk to him!" Martin hisses at the two of them. 

They turn as one to look at Martin, giving him an intense stare. "Why not?" Sasha asks, sounding soothing but also very confused.

Martin blinks at them. "Erm firstly, I am not looking for a relationship, secondly, he would not want to talk to me let alone anything else, and thirdly! He's sat with that woman, so chances are she's his wife or girlfriend or something!" He explains, taking a deep breath when he's finished. 

Cringing at his outburst, Martin picks up his drink. "No-one said anything about a relationship Martin." Tim says slyly, giving him a wink and an explicit hand gesture. 

Sasha laughs and pulls Tim's hand away. "You're embarrassing him!" She giggles, then turning to Martin, places her hand on his. "Anyone would be lucky to have you, don't be so hard on yourself." She says softly. Martin smiles at her. He glances over at the table in question and takes in the woman; she's a tall Black woman with dark curly hair and a bright yellow, floaty top, who's currently excitedly chatting away to her friend? Boyfriend? Husband? He giggles, as he admits to himself that they really do have a serious case of resting bitch face. 

Picking up his drink, he proposes a toast. "Fuck men, we're here to get drunk and forget about work!" He toasts. Sasha and Tim cheer and clink their glasses to his. Unbeknownst to them, at the other table a woman with dyed hair and dark sunglasses comes over with her Guide dog, where the woman gets up, presses a kiss to her cheek and pulls her into the booth with her.

"Fuck Men! Fuck Men! Fuck Men!" Tim starts chanting, making a few of the nearby tables turn to stare at them. Martin hides his head in his hands, face bright pink. Sasha doubles over in hysterics, tears streaming down her face. 

Seeing that Sasha will be no help in making Tim shut up, Martin sits up. "Will you be quiet if I buy us shots?" Martin desperately asks, willing to do almost anything to get Tim to stop chanting and drawing attention to their table. 

Shutting up immediately, Tim grins. "Briefly yes." He replies, leaning over the table to grab Martin's cheeks and give him a wet kiss. 

Pushing him off with a laugh, Martin gets up. "Get off, you oaf." He chuckles, heading over to the bar. He stumbles slightly, turning back to the table briefly to see Tim pouting and leaning heavily on Sasha. Laughing at Tim's antics, he makes his way over to the bar and leans heavily against it as he waits to be served. 

Seeing the bartender is over the other end, so he watches Tim and Sasha as they play-fight. He feels a warmth in his heart at his friends and is beyond grateful he managed to get this job, despite lying about most of his CV. "What can I get you?" The bartender says, making him jump and spin around. His mind blanks out for a moment and he stares at them blankly. Having no idea what he actually wants to order. "Okay I'll give you a second." They say moving on to the person next to him. 

The overwhelming urge for the ground to swallow him up fills his head. "Two whiskey and two tequila shots please." Breaks through his brain fog and he blinks. No way is he drinking whiskey but tequila would do, so he turns back to the bartender with more confidence. 

He leans on to the bar with purpose and the bartender glances back at him after handing the shots to the person next to him. "Six tequila shots please." Martin requests and the bartender nods. He breathes out in relief, quickly paying and walking back over to the table, away from his embarrassing interaction. He does his best not to spill them, but is already feeling the alcohol start to hit, making him giggly and uncoordinated.

Sliding back into the booth, Tim and Sasha break apart and grin at him when he puts the handful of shots down. "Shots! Shots! Shots!" They both chant. He grabs his first shot and clicks it with Tim and Sasha. "Cheers!" The burn of alcohol down his throat distracts him from anything else. They slam their glasses down on the table with satisfactory grins. 

_The rest of the evening is mostly a blur._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying this, I have a bunch of chapters written but I am trying pace myself in posting them, as I will probably not keep up the speed I am writing atm for long. 
> 
> Comments give me life so I am easily bribed into writing more!


	3. Ghost dogs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jon WILL HAVE FRIENDS!  
> If you are unaware, the Mechanisms is a band of space pirates that Jonny Sims is in. You do not need to have listened to the album's, but it does give some content to the characters and some of the jokes.

Slowly turning from side to side in their swivel chair, Jon attempts to edit the newest episode of What the Ghost without losing all faith in humanity and common sense. The audio plays through the heavy headphones on their head and they adjust it accordingly and mark sections to be cut from the final episode. 

_{[Georgie] Welcome Ghost hunters! I am Georgie!_

_[Melanie] and I'm Melanie._

_[Georgie] Today we are focusing on you guys' stories and ghosts! And of course answering some questions later in the show._

_[Melanie] Our first Ghost hunt UK submission is from @PMSsucks, which I can certainly agree with you on your username!_

_[Georgie] eugh yes._

_[@PMSsucks] I want to tell you about my dog. She was a collie, had her since she was a pup. She passed away last year and we put her ashes and her collar on one of the shelves on the TV stand in the living room. My wife and I got a new puppy a couple of months ago and she has never gone near the ashes even though they're within reach and we've never told her not to. Then due to the puppy causing mischief, we got a camera set up to keep an eye on her when we were out. One night it recorded a clip of a small white ball of light floating through the air. No other movement in the room. This ball of light went directly into the container of ashes on the shelf. So it's nice to know that she's still with us. Anyway love the show, keep on searching for the ghosts.}_

Jon's hands are shoved away from their keyboard as a furry lump jumps up onto the desk and headbutts their hand. "Cat. I'm trying to work." They state, scratching behind his ears and then gently pushing him across the desk away from the laptop. The Admiral meows pitifully and then after getting no response from Jon, prepares to pounce and then leaps up onto their shoulders. Jon freezes as they adjust to the additional weight. Unconcerned, the Admiral nuzzles his face into Jon's neck and swishes his tail back and forth in happiness. They laugh at his persistence and carefully, doing their best not to disturb the cat, closes the laptop and grabs their phone. Positioning it up, Jon attempts to capture a picture of him that is not blurred from him moving and snuggling into their neck so much. It vibrates in their hand and they move it into sight, still balancing the cat on their shoulders. Absentmindedly they stroke the Admiral and open up the Whatsapp notifications. 

**The Aurora**

_Group description:_

_Only 3 rules:_

  * _No '''''legal names'''''_


  * _No screenshots_


  * _Lots of whiskey_



**Toy Soldier**

HELLO EVERYONE I'M BACK

**Drumbot Brian**

How?! Didn't Jonny kick you out of here last week?

**Toy Soldier**

Affirmative

**Nastya Rasputina**

Beats me, it's ability to come and go is a feat of technical genius even *I* cannot understand

**Gunpowder Tim**

@IvyAlexandria How many times has this been?

**Ivy Alexandria**

This month. 6 times.

**Nastya Rasputina**

and it's only the 10th

**Marius von Braum**

It's going to give Jonny a nervous breakdown soon!

**Jonny D'Ville**

Will I never have any peace from you idiots?

**Marius von Rain**

Nope!

**Toy Soldier**

Friend!

I missed you!

**Jonny D'Ville**

no

_Jonny D'Ville removed Toy Soldier_

Will you all shut up now?

**Ashes O'Reily**

I think you know the answer to that.

**Marius von Braum**

Still no

It's like you don't even know us?

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

I got some new wings for the show!!

LOOK

_(image of large light up wings)_

They're so pretty!!

**Ashes O'Reily**

Those look GORGEOUS

**Jonny D'Ville**

Won't they be a bit impractical on stage…

**Ashes O'Reily**

Shush grumpy pants

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

I swear they won't cause any problems!!!

**Jonny D'Ville**

sbdhdjjsbs a yesss ksnungsn

**Marius von Braum**

What happened bud? You need a doctor? Because I am at your service

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

there's a yes in there so I'm taking it

**Ivy Alexandria**

My guess would be a cat keysmash, there is no other scenario over 30% of them using such a level of incoherence.

**Drumbot Brian**

@MariusVonBraum Shut up you're not a doctor

**Jonny D'Ville**

...

You may be right.

_(Image of the Admiral on Jon's shoulders, with a paw reaching ominously towards the phone.)_

**Toy Soldier**

What a cutie!!

**Ivy Alexandria**

...7 times now.

**Drumbot Brian**

Hell yeah!

**Jonny D'Ville**

  1. @ToySoldier pls just get out
  2. @RaphaellaLaCognizi That was not a yes!
  3. @MariusVonBraum I would rather shoot myself than allow you anywhere near me as a doctor.



**Ashes O'Reily**

No you won't, that's illegal

**Jonny D'Ville**

Too bad

Be gay, do crime

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

too late, you already said yes

;P

**Jonny D'Ville**

No that was clearly a keysmash

**Toy Soldier**

No friend, you said yes to the pretty wings?

_Jonny D'Ville removed Toy Soldier_

**Jonny D'Ville**

Will none of you listen to your captain? 

**Marius von Braum**

first mate.

**Gunpowder Tim**

First mate!

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

First mate

**Ivy Alexandria**

First mate.

**Drumbot Brian**

FIRST MATE

**Ashes O'Reily**

First mate

**Nastya Rasputina**

First mate.

**Toy Soldier**

First Mate actually!

**Jonny D'Ville**

*screams*

Closing the app and putting the phone down on the desk, they pull the cat down off their shoulders and onto their lap. "You wouldn't betray me would you puss? You know I'm their captain." Jon coos at the Admiral. He purrs and meows in agreement and headbutts their chest, trying to get as close to them as physically possible. 

_*Knock knock*_

The door opens and Georgie cautiously peers around it. "Sorry! I know you're working but have you seen the Admiral?" She asks and then stares at them in judgement when she spots the Admiral on Jon's lap. Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Jon freezes and stares at her. At the lack of fuss, the Admiral meows impatiently and bats Jon's face, knocking their glasses askew. Breaking the spell on them, they both start laughing and Jon wraps their arms around the Admiral. "That cat is obsessed with you! Honestly!" She chuckles, walking across the room to scoop him up out of Jon's arms. 

Pouting at having the cat removed from their lap, Jon sulks. "We're soulmates." Jon says. 

Georgie laughs. "I know, but you're supposed to be working!" She teases. 

Swiveling around in their chair, Jon pouts. "You're the one always telling me to take breaks." They argue.

Gasping in betrayal, Georgie swivels around with the cat. "Bad Jon. No cat for you." She teases. She bounces the cat up and down for a minute and then he meows in protest and leaps out of her arms, landing on his feet and running over to Jon. Smiling in pride, Jon fusses his forehead and coos at him. "Whatever. Keep MY cat. Just tell me you've sent off that research application off to the Magnus Institute?" She says, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Shiftily avoiding her eye contact, Jon looks down at the cat and pretends to have not heard her. They can feel her increasingly intense glare on them and eventually cracks and looks up at her. "Fine, no I haven't. I will do it later." They say, but she doesn't look convinced. 

"No. Now Jon" 

"But I'm editing now." 

"No you're procrastinating doing the job you've been putting off all week! We need that research." 

"Fine." They sigh. Pulling the laptop forward again, they open it up and go onto their professional email account. They create a new email and stare at the curser, blinking back at them. 

_'Dear Sasha James (or to whom it may concern),_

_Good Afternoon. I am the researcher on the What the Ghost podcast and we are doing an episode on war ghosts this season, and we have been repeatedly pointed towards your institute as a source for information on this subject. I would like to request access to your archives at your earliest convenience._

_With regards,_

_Jonathan Sims.'_

Looking smugly at Georgie, they push the laptop away from them. "Thank you. Now let me read it." She says, walking over the room and grabbing the laptop off the desk. "Jon!" She exclaims in horror. They startle and look at her in confusion. "You sound like a stuck up prick!" She tells them.

Their eyes widen. "Whoops?" They say. Georgie rolls her eyes at them. "At least it's professional?" They say cautiously. 

"Whatever, you're the one that's got to deal with them." She says with a shrug. Jon sighs and sinks their face into the Admirals fur. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a lot of fun writing this, so I'm glad that you guys seem to like it too! X


	4. Fake Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two worlds collide! Enjoy :)

Yawning as she collapses down into her chair, Sasha turns her computer on and waits for it to boot up. She clicks onto her emails and marks most of them as spam and adds a couple to her list of things to do later. Preferably after Tim gets in with their coffee order. So far Elias hasn't queried the occasional coffee shop receipts in the archives budget. Next, she checks her calender and groans. "What's wrong gorgeous?" Tim asks, as he walks through the door to her office and hands a takeout coffee cup to her. 

Grasping the cup close to her, she sighs as the warmth curls into her palms and the smell of coffee drifts towards her. "My saviour." She says, taking a much needed sip. 

"Shall I leave the two of you alone?" Tim says suggestively, watching as she cradles the coffee close. 

Giving him an unimpressed look, Sasha ignores his comment. "We've got that stuck up researcher coming in today to use the archives." She explains, blowing on her drink to cool it down. 

Tim shrugs and walks over to her, before jumping up so he's perched on the desk. He takes a sip of his own coffee. "Hot! How are you already drinking yours?" He exclaims. She just shrugs and smugly takes another sip of her coffee, making a drawn out moan to make him jealous. 

"Oh you do not want to start this with me!" Tim challenges, raising an eyebrow at her. She smirks and winks at him in challenge. In response Tim takes a sip of the coffee, pulls a face at the still too hot liquid and then lets out the longest, sultriest moan he can. 

This moan stutters to a halt after half way through, Sasha puts her hands up to her face and starts laughing, looking at something behind him. Tim cuts it short and twists around from his perch on her desk to see Martin standing with his jaw hanging open in the doorway. "...not in front of my coffee." He manages to get out. Tim flushes in embarrassment and picks up the third coffee cup from the desk and holds it out to him. 

Hesitantly he steps forward and grasps it, quickly going to leave, eyes down on the floor. "No Martin don't go!" Sasha calls out between giggles. He glances up between the two of them and then nods, leaning against the doorframe. "I meant to tell you. Please can you show this researcher fellow around the archives and explain the rules and stuff?" She asks, fluttering her eyelashes sweetly. 

Martin pulls a face at that. "Why do I get the stuffy researcher? Tim's the people person." He says reluctantly. 

Shrugging, Tim gives him an apologetic look. "Bosslady said no, sorry bud." He explains. Martin gives her a betrayed look. 

"I am not risking a harassment complaint against Tim, that's just too much paperwork." She explains with a shrug, while Tim pulls an offended look at her. 

Before Tim can begin arguing in favour of his flirting techniques Sasha's office phone rings and she shushes him with a look. "Hello, Sasha James speaking." 

"Hi love, it's Rosie."

"Ooh morning, how can I help?" 

"I've got a Jonathan Sims here at Reception to come down to the archives?" 

"Ah yeah that's fine, send him down." 

"Alright will do." 

"See you later." 

"Bye love."

"Our Jonathan Sims is coming down from reception now, so Tim get off my desk and Martin, take a deep breath." She says, switching into boss mode. Tim reluctantly slinks off her desk and gives her a salut, walking out of her office to his desk. In contrast, Martin gives her a look of panic and then follows him out. Sasha takes a second to straighten up the few things on her desk, takes a deep breath and then puts her best professional face on and walks out to meet Jonathan Sims. 

Walking out of her office, she sees Tim with his feet up on his desk, spinning a pen around his fingers, and Martin looking from his computer screen to the door every few seconds. She glares at Tim, who reluctantly removes his feet from the desk, but then watches with interest as they all hear a knock on the archives door. "Come in." She calls out. 

The door swings open and the person that walks in is short, with dark skin, dark hair pulled back into a tight bun and a tweed blazer with patches on the elbows. "Hello. I'm Jonathan Sims." They say, holding out a hand to Sasha. 

They shake hands, Sasha giving them a welcoming smile. "Hi! I'm Sasha, the head archivist, and these two are my assistants; Tim and Martin." She says gesturing to them in turn. Tim gives them a grin and Martin awkwardly waves from behind his desk. Jon gives them a nod of acknowledgment. "Right! So Martin here will show you around the archives and explain how it all works, okay?"

Nodding in agreement, Jon's eyes travel over to Martin and they stare at each other for a minute, until Martin jumps up. "Right right, sorry, that's me." He says in a panic. 

Jon looks exasperated and Sasha prays that they will make it through the day without any complaints. "Any problems, I'll be in my office." She says, walking into her office and away from the inevitable chaos. 

Watching her leave nervously, Martin tries to channel some of Tim's confidence and Sasha's professionalism. "First of all we don't allow food, drinks or anything flammable in the archives. You can leave anything like that in the break room?" He explains, hoping to bluff his way through. 

Looking at him blankly, Jon shakes his head. "I'm fine then." They say, throwing Martin off slightly. 

Blinking at him in surprise, he moves on. "Okay… well it's through here then." He says gesturing towards the archives. Jon nods and strides through the door. Martin gives Tim a panicked look and then quickly follows after them. 

**Archive Gang(bang)**

**Tim**

Guys!! Look! Have you listened to any of the podcast he's from? 

_(Link to What The Ghost)_

**Sasha**

I see you're working hard…

**Tim**

It's research

**Sasha**

Whatever, tell me more about the show

**Tim**

So they do ghost hunts in different haunted locations, trying to prove their existence. BUT they also have a section for fans to send in their own ghost experiences!!!

**Sasha**

Oh no

I can see where this is going

**Tim**

Oh come on this is a great plan!

**Sasha**

No Tim! 

**Tim**

You're no fun :(

**Martin**

...He's making handwritten notes and recording on a tape recorder?! 

**Tim**

Must be older than he looks! :0

**Sasha**

Please tell me you're not on your phone while showing him around??

**Martin**

No! Apparently he knows the filing system because _he went to Oxford_ so he doesn't need MY help

**Tim**

Damn! How did a guy like that get into a ghost podcast???

**Sasha**

Are you okay Martin? 

**Martin**

Yeah, I just wish people had a sMiDgEn of politeness towards other people 

**Tim**

Well said! 

Now, I would like to revisit my earlier suggestion, of sending a prank ghost story???? 

**Martin**

Nah, I'm gonna be the bigger person and all that jazz

**Sasha**

Good for you! 

**Tim**

Well that's boring

Where is the _drama!_

**Martin**

Maybe he's just awkward

Or having a bad day

**Tim**

Whatever

Fine

I'm going back to binging their podcast

**Sasha**

AFTER WORK TIM

**Tim**

:(

Martin walks back into their office and rolls his eyes at Tim, and goes to sit back behind his desk. He opens up his laptop and checks his emails to see if anyone has got back to him yet. He soon settles into his work, humming away under his breath to a catchy pop song that had been on the radio this morning. Once he's managed to do all the follow up he can on his current statement, he collects all the files and goes into Sasha's office to give her an update. He places the file in her 'to read' slot. "Thanks Martin I'll have a read through in a sec." She says brightly, smiling at his entrance. 

Checking his watch, he realises a few hours have gone by. "Fancy a cuppa?" He asks. 

"God yes, you read my mind"

"Alright, be back in a tic then." 

She smiles gratefully and Martin carefully closes the door behind him. "Is that tea I hear?" Tim asks. Martin nods. Tim flutters his eyelashes at him. "Pwease?" 

"Yes of course I'll do you one too." He says, shaking his head at Tim's ridiculousness. Tim cheers. Martin looks up at the door to the archives and pauses. After a minute he sighs and walks over. "Oh don't tell me you're gonna do him one?" Tim asks in disbelief. 

Pausing, Martin smiles. "I guess I am. Maybe he'll feel bad for being rude earlier." He says. Tim shakes his head at him, but goes back to his laptop without making any more of a fuss. 

Before Martin can go into the archives to ask, the door on the other side of the room opens. Elias struts in, with his sleek black suit looking pristine as always, he looks around the room barely giving Tim and Martin a second glance. Seeing Sasha in her office through the open door, he pauses. "Archivist." He says in greeting. 

Confused, Sasha pops her head up over the desk and comes out to meet him. "Elias." She greets "I thought our meeting was tomorrow?" 

"Correct. However plans have changed and I will not be in tomorrow."

"Ooh right…" 

"So I would like your usual update about your progress by the end of the day."

"Yes that's fine."

Leaning back in his chair, Tim scowls at his lack of politeness towards her. "Big plans then, Double-boss?" He asks, putting on a mask of politeness. 

Looking surprised and slightly confused at Tim's questioning. "Yes. If you must know, I'm getting married." He says stiffly, clearly not wanting to get any further into his personal life. Not waiting for them to respond to his announcement, he strides back out of the room, firmly closing the door behind him. 

The three of them stare at each other in shock. "Married…?" They mutter in disbelief. 

"Now I really do need a cuppa." Sasha exclaims, breaking the silence and letting out a giggle. 

They all start giggling at the idea of Elias being in a relationship with anyone. "Right, gold-digger or rich snob?" Tim asks and they all burst out laughing again. 

Together the three of them make their way into the break room, still giggling and arguing about the potential spouse. Martin clicks the kettle on and they spend a quality break discussing their boss's love life and placing bets on what the mystery spouse is like. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly writing Elias as just a rich bastard is very funny to me


	5. War Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time is a mystery to me right now, how has it been over a week since I last updated this????

Sitting at his desk, Martin sighs into the mountain of papers he has piled up. He'd been sitting in the same spot for hours today already and was getting a crick in his neck. Leaning back in his chair, he stretches in his seat. Reading through the page in front of him for about the third time, he realises he is missing one of the documents that is being referenced. Shuffling through the stack he searches for the quoted document, to no success. He stares blankly at the ceiling for a minute and then gets to his feet. 

Looking up from typing up a statement, Tim gives him a questioning look. "Missing document, going to have a rummage in the Archives." Martin explains. "Gives me a chance to stretch my legs as well." 

Nodding, Tim lets out a big yawn and stretches his back out as well. "Definitely in need of that." He murmurs. Martin smiles in agreement and wanders over to the door. "Mind out though, that's Jonathan's lair at the moment." Tim jokes with a smirk. 

Laughing, Martin leans against the doorframe. "Don't be so mean, he almost smiled at us this morning." He says in amusement. Tim rolls his eyes and looks shocked. He doesn't mention how much he actually cares about whether they like him or not. He pulls himself upright and heads into the archives. 

Walking through the archives he wanders from aisle to aisle trying to find where the file had originally come from. Before he can get to the shelf needed, he catches sight of Jonathan hunched over a desk at the end of the aisle. He has to pause at the sight. Jonathan hasn't noticed him yet, looking engrossed in their work. They are sat cross-legged on the chair, blazer long forgotten and thrown over the back of the chair. Their hair is hanging loosely out of the bun, with a few straggly bits hanging in front of their face. Their desk is stacked high with books and files in a chaotic pile, which appears like it could fall over if anyone so much as breathed on it. They were spinning a pen around in their fingers and muttering to themselves as they scan the page in front of them. Staring at them in shock, Martin shakes himself out his thoughts and coughs, trying to get their attention. Nothing. "Jonathan?" He calls out. 

Leaping out of their skin at the sound, Jon spins in the chair, almost falling onto the floor. Martin laughs as the pen that was previously in their hand goes flying towards his feet. "Shit." Jon swears under their breath, then looks up at Martin in panic. "Sorry you startled me." They say, with an awkward smile. 

"Sorry my bad." Martin says, reaching down to pick up the pen and hand it over. 

"Thanks…"

"Ooh! Sorry I was just stretching my legs. Thinking about having a break and some tea. You need anything?" 

"Oh. I don't want to be a bother. I'm just reading this fascinating account about the First Boer War"

"It's been hours. You should have something to drink. Especially if you're making audio notes." Martin adds, hoping that the logic will override the clear itch under their skin to keep digging through old notes. 

"Oh… has it? I tend to get quite absorbed." Jon murmurs distractedly. They pull their phone out of their pocket to check the time. 

**The Admiral is Bae**

**Georgie**

So how's it going then?

Any interesting stuff today?

**Melanie**

I bet they've punched Jon already

**Georgie**

But Jon promised to be nice!

**Melanie**

This is Jon we are talking about 

**Georgie**

Jon??? Please tell me they've not punched you?

**Melanie**

Ha 

**Georgie**

Come on Jon! Even you need to take a break at some point

**Melanie**

You know we'll be lucky to hear anything from them till late

**Georgie**

I'm going to kill them 

**Melanie**

Maybe they beat you too it 

**Georgie**

@Jon

@Jon

@Jon

@Jon 

Damn you 

**Jon**

No, no-one has been punched

Rolling their eyes at the phone, Jon shoves it back into their pocket, ignoring the vibrations going off already. "Apparently I should be taking a break…" They say awkwardly. 

Martin can't help but laugh, at their expression. "Come and have a cup of tea. This will all be here when you get back." He says. 

"Alright."

"Great." Martin says, feeling a surge of protectiveness towards them. The two of them start to walk out of the archives and Martin tries to figure out what to say. "So… how'd you get into podcasts?" He asks. 

"Me and Georgie used to get into these big debates about ghosts and the supernatural and stuff. Our friends always thought it was amusing to listen to. Then we met Melanie and What the Ghost happened." 

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"No. There are always more plausible scenarios. Do you?" 

"Not really."

"You work here though?" 

"And you do a ghost podcast. So what? A job's a job." 

"Right. Sorry. I'm clearly making an arse out of myself today." 

"Bad day?" 

"No, I think it's just me as a person."

Laughing at Jon's deadpan delivery, they walk into the offices. Tim looks up at the two of them in surprise and confusion. Martin gives him a look to be quiet and leads Jon into the break room. He clicks the kettle on and settles into the easy routine. "Oh sorry, make yourself comfy Jonathan." He says gesturing to the table and chairs. 

They sit, perching on the edge of the chair. A few minutes silence and then a cup of tea is thrust into their hand. "Thanks, and erm, it's Jon." They say. 

Smiling, Martin nods. "Alright Jon. I'll just go and give these to the others, back in a sec." He says. He carries the extra two drinks out to Tim and Sasha. 

Walking back in, he sees Jon holding the cup of tea close to their chest and breathing in the warmth. He sits down opposite them and picks up his own cup. They sit in silence for a few minutes, until Martin realises Jon's been staring at his face for too long. He gives him a confused look and Jon startles. "Sorry, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?" They ask. 

Martin looks at him in confusion and looks at them more intently. "Don't think so? Do you live nearby?" He asks. 

Still staring at him a little bit too intently, Jon furrows their brow. "Kind of… Ooh do you go to the Wetherspoons that's just around the corner?" They ask in recognition, brightening as they come up with a potential solution to the problem. Dawning horror creeps into Martin's head. The cute face he'd spotted in the pub, with the leather jacket, long flowing hair and the bright smile, and the face in front of him, with their smart clothes, tied back hair and awkwardness. The images flicker in his head, not quite merging but then he sees a smile creep onto their face and they click together. "You were in last Friday weren't you?" They ask, sounding amused. Judging by how much he'd drunk that evening, he dreaded to think what image was amusing them. 

After a silence that lasts a moment too long for him to lie, he cracks. "Yeah… we have our after work drinks there." He stutters out. Jon grins, looking slightly smug. "Well that's embarrassing." Martin murmurs, cheeks now very hot and he hides his head in his hands on the table. 

Hearing Jon laugh, Martin peeks between his fingers. "Don't worry I didn't see you do anything embarrassing. Anyway I've had my fair share of drunken mistakes, I'm not one to judge!" Jon says, reassuring him. 

Awkwardly Martin sits back up and smiles nervously. He tries to imagine what drunken mistakes Jon may have been talking about. He comes up empty and giggles. Jon looks at him in confusion and tilts his head, in a way that Martin finds adorable. "What back when you were a youngster?" Martin teases. 

An adorable look of horror crosses Jon's face. "Okay I cannot be that much older than you" They demand. Martin freezes. Clearly their guess that Jon was older is not as accurate as they first thought. He shrugs nervously, not wanting to put his foot in his mouth any more than he already has. "I'm 27 Martin." They state, an amused glint in their eyes as Martin's horror grows. 

"Christ I am so sorry!"

"Wow I look that bad then?"

No no! I'm sorry for assuming you were…"

"Old?" 

"...I'm so sorry." 

"Honestly it's fine. Georgie and Melanie are always reminding me that I'm going grey already."

"As all good friends do." 

"Damn, already siding against me, I see. The Admiral will hear about this." 

"Who on earth is the Admiral?"

"...our cat."

"Our?"

"Mine and Georgie's. He hates Melanie. Mostly because of Rufus I'll admit." 

"Dog or boyfriend?"

"Guide dog."

Ooh, is she?... Sorry of course she is, otherwise she wouldn't have a guide dog…" Martin rambles. 

"Yes Melanie is Blind. That's why I record my research on a tape recorder as well as notes."

"...We thought it was an odd choice." Martin mumbles. Jon laughs, rolling their eyes at him. They sip their tea in a companionable silence. Once their mugs of tea are empty, Jon gets up to rinse them off in the sink. Martin protests, but Jon can be stubborn, so he does not succeed. "Thanks." He murmurs. Jon smiles in response and nods at him as they walk out of the break room towards the Archives and back to work. Martin leans against the countertop and sighs longingly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know, I'm back at work now so I'm sorry if anything is a bit slower, but with all off you writing lovely things in the comments I can't not keep writing!


	6. Ghostly Vibrations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. With some (hopefully) good vibes between Jon and Daisy! They are bros and you cannot convince me otherwise

Curling up on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around their legs to keep out the chill, Jon absentmindedly strokes the Admiral's fur while they read. Flicking through the pages they zone out of the rest of the world. Georgie and Melanie left a while ago for their date, leaving Jon with the house to themselves for once. The Admiral's gentle purring soothes them into a peaceful headspace.

This peace is shattered by the cat yowling as Jon's phone vibrates underneath him. The Admiral leaps up, hackles raised, streaking across the room. Book long forgotten, Jon places it on the side and kneels down, cooing at him. Turning around and swishing his tail in Jon's face, the Admiral struts out of the room. Sighing at the loss of their companion, Jon walks back over to the sofa and checks to see what had caused the vibrations. Deciding that whatever company that has disturbed the cats rest to send them junk emails will be blocked forever. 

**Daisy**

You about? 

Basira's out at work and I'm bored

You scared the cat

Oh dear

Please apologize on my behalf

I was only trying to disturb you 

Can't

Strutted away in disgust

That cat got pride

He does

If I bring treats will he forgive me?

That is not up to me

Well I will anyway 

Am I going to be included in this plan at all?

No

Left up to you, you would have no friends and be living the life of a hermit 

I would not!

You would and it's okay. 

So I'm coming over

Fine. But bring take out 

Will do. 

Gotta bribe both of you 

Why?

What do I need bribing about?

You mean you've forgotten?

It's time for our catch up on the Archers

I've changed my mind, go away

No can do

I'll lock the door

I'll break a window

That will scare the Admiral again

Fine! I'll blast the Archers at full volume from outside your window until you open the door

You're evil

I know

See you in ten

Sighing at the prospect of company, Jon folds up the blanket, putting it back on the back of the sofa. They stretch their spine out and then wander into the kitchen to have a glass of water, as they're not sure when they last had a drink. Knowing she won't be long, they put the kettle on and get out the mugs. Daisy's one being a white mug with a big wolf on and theirs being a black mug with a green eye. The door slams open just as Jon is pouring the tea. They carry the mugs into the living room as Daisy makes her way through the hallway. Putting their feet up onto the sofa, they hold the mug close to their chest. "Hey loser." Daisy says in greeting, lowering herself down onto the chair and placing her walking stick next to her. Today she is wearing a white tank top and jogging bottoms. Her short blond hair and the white top, highlights her paleness and the dark circles under her eyes. 

Blowing on the tea, they smile. "How are you today?" They ask, ignoring her insult.

"Bored." She replies, her fingers tapping anxiously on her knee. 

Scrunching their face up in confusion, they look at her. "So you came to me?" They ask in surprise, knowing that most people come to them when they want quiet company, not stimulation and activity. 

A sly smile spreads on Daisy's face. "You may be a boring old grump, but you understand, and don't go all soft on me when I'm feeling shitty." She explains, taking a sip of her tea.

Jon's face goes from offended to understanding. "Oh, okay, I'm glad." They say, a soft smile on their lips. Grateful for Daisy's frankness in talking about their friendship. 

"Don't get sappy on me now. Tell me about what you've been doing this week?" 

"I've been at the Magnus Institute, researching the records and sightings of war ghosts." 

"Those quacks?"

"Yeah… they seem alright though." 

"Says the person who called them idiot ghost hunters who couldn't even hunt their own ghosts." Daisy says in astonishment and Jon is stunned into silence. They open their mouth to speak, but can't quite get the words to argue against her logic. She is too perceptive for them to try and hide anything from her. "So what changed?" She asks, when she realises they have given up on replying. 

Mulling over the question, Jon stares into space. They take a sip of tea, trying to pull the niggling answer out of the back of their brain. "I don't know… I guess it's just a job to some people? They don't need to support the institute or what it does to work there." They say, realising that a lot of why their opinion of the Magnus Institute staff has changed was because of Martin. Who had made sure they took a break and made them tea, all the while not believing in ghosts and just doing his job. 

Daisy gives him a disbelieving look, then smirks. "This sounds awfully specific. Who've you been talking to there?" She teases. 

Eyes widen, Jon feels their stomach churn in nervousness. "No-one." They lie. Daisy looks unconvinced and just stares at them intently, waiting them out. This causes Jon to remember how stubborn Daisy is, and knows that she could keep at it for much longer than they can, so they quickly give in. "Fine. His name's Martin. He seemed nice." Jon spits out. 

"He must be nice to make the great Jonathan Sims like him!" 

"I do not _like_ him! He was just easy to talk to… but I do not want to date him!"

Jon's face flushes as they speak and Daisy's grin widens in surprise. "...Well I didn't mean it like that originally but now? Now I definitely do." She teases. The look of horror that spreads on Jon's face is priceless. "Wanna tell me about him?" She asks. 

"I'd rather listen to the Archers." 

"Okay." She says with a shrug. She pulls out her phone and searches on it for their current episode. Jon leans their head back against the sofa and closes their eyes. Their mind whirling and spinning in confusion. "Hey puss." She coo's. Jon opens their eyes to see The Admiral strutting in and sniffing Daisy's legs. After sniffing her hand, Daisy scoops him up, cuddling him to her chest. She strokes his back as he purrs. The sounds soothes some of Jon's anxiety, so he pulls the blanket back down off the back of the sofa and curls up tightly on the sofa. Attempting to cocoon themself away from the world. "Where's my buddy Rufus?" She asks, mid cat head scratch. 

Glancing up from their cocoon best, Jon rolls their eyes at Daisy. "With Melanie and Georgie on their date. But you need to stop reminding me that you are a dog person." Jon teases. 

Pulling a face at Jon, Daisy grins. "You can't go running with a cat." She states, as if that should end the entire argument and win Jon over.

The expression on Jon's face says otherwise. "I don't want to go running." They say, just getting disgusted at the thought of all that exercise and sweatiness. 

"Dogs will always love you."

"Cats have actual loyalty."

"Dogs get you out of the house on walks."

"Cats fit around your busy schedule."

"Dogs act as guard dogs to help you feel safe in the house or out and about."

"Cats don't go mental, barking at the postman every day." 

"Dogs can be taught cool tricks!"

Looking outraged Jon pulls out their phone and aggressively clicks through their photo album. "Excuse me! Look at him!" They say, trying to walk over to Daisy to show her the video but tripping over the blankets wrapped around their legs. Daisy laughs at their undignified stumble, but is eventually handed a phone. A video of the cat sitting and high fiving on command plays with cheers and praise given loudly in the background. 

After repeating the video again and intently staring at it. "Okay, the Admiral is the equivalent of a dog." Daisy reluctantly admits. Looking down at the cat in question in her lap. "You are smart aren't you?" She coo's at him, and he proudly purrs and rolls over, showing off his belly. 

Looking conflictingly proud at her admission and unhappy at him being referred to as a dog, Jon decides that that is the most they will get out of Daisy. Settling back onto their sofa, they wrap the blanket back around them and close their eyes, shutting the world out. Jon tries to focus on the meaningless drama going on in Ambridge village instead of in their head. If Daisy asks though, they will swear blind that they fell asleep and _did not_ like The Archers and just put up with it for her benefit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! As always let me know what you think, your lovely comments make my day whenever I read them, so thank you!


	7. Lonely Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been posted a day or two ago but I was in the zone writing the new chapter and didn't want to interrupt myself to edit, so sorry but it's done now! 
> 
> TW: depressive episode / panic attack

Strolling through the empty corridors of the Magnus Institute was always a little bit spooky. No matter what time of day it was, they always seemed to be empty, with very little light and the shadows seemed to stretch further than you'd expect. Martin hurried down them, wanting to get into the perceived safety of the archives offices. He'd been up for a meeting with Elias and if he hadn't still got his job, he would have sworn that Elias knew that his degree was all bullshit. His yearly performance review seemed to be specifically designed to humiliate him and make him look stupid. Elias had sat behind his desk looking smug, and if this wasn't the best paid job he'd ever managed to hold down he would have walked out and never come back. But unfortunately he has bills to cover, his Mum's residential home does not come cheap. 

It's as he's stewing in thoughts of hatred towards his boss that he almost walks into someone. Startling backwards in embarrassment, he stutters out an apology and takes in the man in front of him. He is a tall, well built man, with a great big bushy beard. He's got a blue, expensive looking sweater on and Martin flushes hoping this guy doesn't think he's checking him out. "You know where Elias' office is?" The man asks, sounding quite uninterested in getting the answer. 

Moving to the side of the corridor to allow the man to get passed he points. "Down that way and up the stairs." He stutters out, hoping to limit his interaction with anyone who was seeking Elias out. 

Unfortunately for Martin, the man does not follow his directions and just stands there looking resigned, blocking off Martin's escape route. "Bloody bastard wants his ring back. Apparently it's an irreplaceable family heirloom." He scoffs, "Like hell, he's just a penny pinching bastard." 

Eyes wide in panic, Martin freezes. "You're his husband?" He asks tentatively, still slightly in shock by the way the man was talking about him. 

The man lets out a humourless laugh. "Only by law. Madman wants a divorce!" He rants. "The honeymoon wasn't up to scratch... Like hell it wasn't! That was a bloody expensive boat I bought for us!" He says, mockingly impressonating Elias's voice. Too stunned to say anything Martin just nods and hopes this man isn't looking for any response from him. "He had the gall to tell me he didn't like the ocean! I nearly threw the bitch overboard right then!" He exclaims. 

Trying not to laugh at the image of Elias being bodily thrown over the side of a boat, Martin tries to hold himself together. "Well… I should be getting back to work…" Martin says attempting to get away and certainly not be around when the two of them are face to face. 

This must break through the man's rant as he actually looks at Martin. "Right. Just remember, people aren't worth it. Never are and never will be." The man says solemnly to Martin. A brief surge of understanding overpowers Martin and he nods, smiling ruthfully. Thinking back to all the times his mother had said the same words to him, mostly in reference to his father. "That's it. You understand, don't you ma boy. You're luckier than most. You don't have everyone tripping over themselves trying to get to know you, do you! Must be nice to have other people do the work for you and end the relationship…" the man contemplates. He taps Martin on the shoulder in a way that is perhaps intended to be supportive and walks past him on his way to Elias' office.

Standing there in shock and horror as the man's words sink into him. All his emotions rise up in his throat and threaten to overwhelm him. Leaning against the wall, he tries to take a deep breath to calm himself down, but it ends up more like a hiccup as sobs begin to wrack his body. Wiping away the moisture in his eyes, he tries to hold it together enough to get somewhere else, anywhere else. Stumbling into the archival offices he clamps a hand over his mouth as he sees the office deserted. A piece of paper is stuck to Sasha's door. 

_'Do not disturb! (I'm looking at you Tim, find someone else to bug today I'm working!)'_

Is written in neat black ink and then underneath is some pink glittery writing scrawled across the corner: 

_'Fine! I'm going to go have lunch with my police contact! Don't expect me back today, I will give you the bill tomorrow :) x'_

The thought of knocking on Sasha's door for comfort is more energy than he has right now, so he walks out into the archives, furiously wiping away tears as he does. Once he's out of hearing range of her office, he collapses down into a heap against the shelving and finally lets himself feel the emotions building within him. The sobs wrack through his body and he can barely even breathe with the pressure within him. His fingers tense and his fingernails dig sharply into his palm, just trying to feel something. He pulls his knees up close to his chest and tries to think of anything except the fact that no one cares enough about him and would all just rather he left them alone. His mother sure would, she hasn't picked up the phone to him in months. 

"...tin" 

"... Martin..."

"Martin!"

A voice floats into his head, calling his name, his brain is swimming but he manages to raise his head slightly. Worried eyes meet his immediately and he panickes, hiding his head again. "Shhh shhh it's okay Martin, just look at me? Please?" He hears, the voice soothing and calm. Raising his head again, he peers through his tears at Jon. They are perched on the floor next to him and hold a hand out. "Is it okay to touch you?" Jon asks cautiously. Martin can't manage to form any words yet, still breathing too heavily, but thinks he manages to nod his head slightly. He must have done as his hand is gently pulled away from it's death grip on his leg and Jon's hand holds his. "It's going to be okay Martin." They say softy. Their other hand slips around his other wrist and moves it gently so his palm is against Jon's chest. Through his palm he can feel Jon's heart beat. They start taking deep breaths. "Feel that? In….. out….. in….. out…. Can you do that for me Martin?" Jon says and Martin does his best to mimic their breathing. Jon keeps talking softly to him and reassuring him, not complaining when Martin gribs his hand so tightly it must be painful. 

Eventually Martin manages to get his breathing slightly more under control. He doesn't know if it's been minutes or hours that he's been sitting here. He feels too exhausted and drained to even care about being embarrassed. "Thanks." He murmurs quietly, throat still sore from crying. 

Letting go of Martin's wrist, Jon smiles and nods. "Forget it, I understand." They say softly. Adjusting slightly so they're sitting more comfortably on the floor. 

Noticing this adjustment, the embarrassment and horror comes flooding back. "Oh god, I'm sorry! I'm fine now you can go and get back to…" Martin rambles, attempting to pull himself up off the floor. 

Jon just grips his hand tighter and glares at him. "Sit." They say leaving no room for argument. "You must be exhausted." They say softly. Martin sighs in defeat and nods, collapsing back against the shelves and stretching his legs out. 

"Sorry… my boss was being a dick and I thought he was going to fire me or something… and then his husband decided that clearly no one could stand to be around me..." Martin mutters, trying to talk his way through his problems. 

Scrunching up their face in confusion, Jon looks at him like he's just said something profoundly stupid. "But you're lovely Martin?" They say, sounding confused. 

Blinking at them in surprise, Martin smiles and lets out a slightly teary chuckle. "...you think so?" He murmurs shyly. 

With a wide grin, that makes Martin feel weak at the knees, Jon nods. "You've put up with me, and I tend to bring out the worst in people." They explain, looking slightly bashful. 

Sniffling and wiping his face, Martin chuckles. "I didn't do much." He says. 

Looking at him in amusement, Jon shakes his head. "My friends were placing bets on how long it would be before one of you cracked and punched me." They say half joking and half deadly serious. 

"Does that happen often?!" 

"Less recently… but I was a right sod when I was younger." 

"This is the improved version of you?" 

"Oh shush. I bet you were a delight for your teachers." 

"I… erm… maybe? I used to spend a lot of time in the library…" 

"I knew it!" Jon crows in success. Martin just chuckles and tries to stop himself from blushing. After a slight pause, Jon looks at Martin in contemplation. "Right so, er… do you have anyone at home? Or that you could call to come over?" They ask, a serious expression on their face.

Looking surprised and a little ashamed, Martin shakes his head. "I live alone." He says, breathing starting to speed up, as the feeling of isolation creeps up on him again. 

Letting go of his hand, Jon stands up and stretches their back out. Martin feels the loss of Jon's hand immediately, picturing this as the point where Jon walks away and stops caring. "Come to mine then? I'll cook?" Jon says offering their hand out to pull him up. 

"What?" 

"Dinner? Mine?" 

"Why?"

"Being on your own isn't good when you're feeling rough… I've had that drilled into me enough times already." 

"I don't want to be a bother…" 

Sighing, Jon pulls out their phone. They quickly find the right chat and quickly type out a message. 

**Georgie**

Can we stretch dinner tonight to three?

You have a friend????? 

:0 :0 :0 

Yes. Now can he come over?

Yes! I need to meet this friend!!!!!

Be nice! He's had a rough day

Oh no! We've got some chocolate cake in the cupboards I think? 

Thanks

No problem, see you soon 

Love you 

Love you too babe! <3

After typing back and forth for a minute, Jon passes the phone over to Martin. "See you're more than welcome." Jon says smugly. Martin scans the messages and tries to ignore the punch in the gut at the affection between the two of them and not flush at the idea that Jon considers them friends. The thought of going back to his empty flat fills him with dread, so he nods. Jon smiles and takes the phone back off him and slips it in their pocket. Holding their hand out again, this time Martin grabs it and heaves himself up off of the floor. "Let me grab my stuff and we can go." Jon says, pulling Martin along by his hand, weaving between the shelves like they've been working here for years, not just visiting for a few days. Jon packs their stuff up and they quickly walk into the archives to grab Martin's bag and before they know they're out on the streets. The fresh air calms Martin's fragile head and they walk further and further from the institute. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! It had to happen!! Please just focus on Elias being thrown overboard instead!!


	8. Ghost's recipes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the threats against Elias and Peter last chapter, it made me very happy seeing your comments! Enjoy!

So lost in his own head, Martin nearly walks past Jon's house. Which in his defence, looked like every other house in the road and Jon had failed to give him any indication that they had arrived until they stopped to open the metal gate. The house is a narrow, brick built terrace, and there are a few pots of some slightly sad looking plants in the small front garden. Martin watches as Jon fumbles for their keys and unlocks the door. His anxiety at meeting Georgie and hanging out with Jon come back to him in full force and he dithers on the doorstep. Jon walks through the door, dropping their keys in a bowl in the hall and crouches down. "Hello mister! I'm home!" They coo and Martin can see a fluffy tail swishing behind Jon's shoulders. 

Curiosity overtaking his anxiety for a moment, Martin walks in. "This wouldn't be the Admiral would it?" He asks, peering over their shoulder. 

Scooping the cat up in their arms, Jon straightens up. "Say hi Cat." Jon says in their cat voice, holding his arm and waving it at Martin. 

Gasping at the incredible cuteness of Jon standing there holding a big fluffy cat in their arms and waving a paw at him, Martin hurries over to them. Holding his hand out for The Admiral to sniff, he waits hoping he will like him. He lets out a breath of relief when his hand gets headbutted and he gently strokes his head. "Aren't you handsome." He coos at him, getting a meow in response that melts his heart.

Behind the two of them, Georgie walks in and grins. "I presume you are talking to the Admiral?" She says with a smirk as she leans against the wall. 

Startling away from the cat, Martin flushes pink. He looks up and sees Georgie, vaguely recognising her from the pub. Today she is wearing a pink What The Ghost t-shirt and dark, animal print leggings. "Hi!" He squeaks out nervously, "Yes! The cat is handsome." 

Putting the cat down on the ground, Jon spins to face her. Crossing their arms over their chest, Jon pouts. "Are you suggesting I can't be handsome?" They demand. 

Pretending to consider the question very seriously, Georgie walks over to Jon giving them an assessing look. "Nope!" She says, as Jon looks betrayed. Martin panickes hoping he's not accidentally started a row. Georgie kisses Jon's cheek and grins. "You are very pretty though." She says softly. 

Jon lets out a surprised laugh and grins her. "Well I suppose I'll forgive you then." They say. "Anyway, Georgie this is Martin, Martin Georgie." They say, gesturing between them. Martin tries to compose himself and manages to wave at her. 

After sticking her tongue out at Jon, she smiles at Martin. "Lovely to meet you!" She exclaims. Jon chucks their bag down, hangs their suit jacket up on the banister and rolls their sleeves up. "Do you want a cup of tea Martin?" She asks, gesturing into the kitchen. 

Nodding, Martin cautiously follows behind Jon and Georgie into the kitchen. "That would be lovely, thank you." He agrees. Jon switches the kettle on, while Georgie gets the cups out of the cupboard. Martin cautiously perches on one of the chairs around their table. 

Setting the cups down, Georgie grabs the tea bags and the milk. "Biscuits?" She suggests to Jon, who nods and goes rummaging about in the cupboards. They manage to find some chocolate digestives and plops down onto a chair next to Martin. Jon offers the biscuits to Martin, who takes one with a smile. They take one out and then raise the packet of biscuits over their shoulder. Georgie quickly snatches the packet off them, and shoves a biscuit into her mouth. As the kettle boils, Georgie sorts the drinks out and places the cups on the table next to them. "Careful, it's hot." She says in warning, as Jon lifts their cup up to their lifts. Embarrassed, they lower it again, with a ruthful smile directed at Georgie. The three of them sit at the table, Jon with their hands around the hot mug. Martin pulls his phone out of his pocket to check his messages. 

**Archive Gang(bang)**

**Sasha**

Martin? 

Have you already left? 

**Tim**

That's not like him

Martin always says goodbye

**Sasha**

You haven't got him off doing anything then? 

**Tim**

No!

You might remember I had other plans for today ;) 

**Sasha**

I do not want to know 

**Tim**

Well as you asked so nicely

It was a great date

The guy has impeccable taste in wine

**Sasha**

Why aren't you with him now then?

Actually I take that back

I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW

**Tim**

He's in the shower actually 

**Sasha**

I cannot believe this is how we get our police records… 

**Tim**

What jealous? ;) 

You know I'd take you out if you asked nicely ;)

<3 

**Sasha**

In your dreams. 

**Martin**

Sorry Sasha! I was feeling really unwell so I went home a bit early 

**Sasha**

Oh honey! That's fine

Are you feeling any better? 

**Martin**

Little bit

**Tim**

Want us to come over and make a blanket fort? I can bring food

**Sasha**

What about your date?

**Tim**

Bros before hoes

If Martin needs company while feeling crap then I'm there

**Sasha**

What do you say Martin? 

Or would you rather not have the company right now?

He must have been staring wide eyed at his phone for at least a minute, when Jon waves a hand in front of his face. "Everything okay?" They ask worriedly. 

"Sasha and Tim are worried about me." He murmurs, feeling a tear go down his cheek. 

Shuffling their chair closer to him, Jon passes him a tissue. "See. You're lovely. Of course they care." They say softy. Awkwardly, they put an arm on his shoulder. It only takes a second, before Martin collapses into Jon's arms. He feels a hand pat him on the back and he sniffles. 

Pulling back, he wipes his eyes and tries to compose himself again. "Sorry, I swear I don't normally go around crying on people." He says, trying to make it sound like a joke. 

"You are not a burden, it's okay to be upset." Jon states. Martin stares at them in surprise. "So what did your friends say?" They ask, gesturing at his since forgotten phone. 

A look of panic crosses Martin's face. "Shit. Shit. Shit." Martin swears under his breath. He pushes the phone away from himself. "What do I tell them?!" He exclaims. 

Pushing the phone back towards him, Jon gives him a soft smile. "The truth. They're your friends." They tell him. Martin reluctantly picks the phone back up and reads through the few new messages.

**Archive Gang(bang)**

**Tim**

You still there Martin? 

**Sasha**

Are you okay??

**Martin**

Sorry guys

Been a really shit day, so Jon invited me for dinner so I didn't have to go back to my empty flat. Would love to get together over the weekend though?

**Tim**

JON????

**Sasha**

As in JONATHAN SIMS?? 

**Martin**

Yes? He's nice

**Tim**

Has he kidnapped you?!

We can get help?? 

**Martin**

No! 

Christ Tim

**Sasha**

We're just worried Martin. I thought he was a bit of a prick? 

**Martin**

I promise once you get past that, he is very kind. I'll explain more when I see you

**Sasha**

I'm sorry, we do trust you. Just be careful

**Tim**

Don't get your hopes up too high ;) 

**Martin**

What does that mean??

**Sasha**

You have been slightly preoccupied by him

**Tim**

Obsessed more like 

**Martin**

I have not!! 

A knock on the kitchen door startles him from his embarrassment. He looks up feeling his face flush pink in embarrassment. Georgie is leaning against the door frame. "Are you okay now? Cuz the Admiral wants his dinner." She asks, gesturing to the cupboard across the kitchen. The cat sits at her feet and yowls in agreement. Martin had forgotten she had been here and must have missed her leaving the room. He chuckles awkwardly and nods. She bustles in and gets the Admirals food sorted. Jon looks at him, giving him a questioning look at his phone. Martin smiles and nods, hoping that Jon doesn't notice his flushed cheeks. Georgie drapes herself over Jon's back, "I thought you were cooking?" She teases. 

Chuckling, Jon sighs good naturedly. "I am. Why? Are you hungry?" They ask, leaning back in their chair to try and see her. 

She nods. "I need food to survive." She states and Jon laughs. 

"Guess I should cook then." Jon says, pushing her off of him and getting up to grab ingredients out of the cupboards. 

She quickly steals Jon's seat next to Martin and smiles at him, making him slightly fearful of her. In the background Jon starts chopping up onions, so he hopes he can pass anything off as the effects of that. "So how do you two know each other then?" She asks Martin, leaning in towards him. 

"I… er… work at the Magnus Institute." 

"Ooh! Found any ghosts?" 

"...sorry no." 

"Damn I can't believe you found another sceptic at the MAGNUS INSTITUTE of all places!" She says turning around to tease Jon. 

"Don't bully me while I have a knife in my hand." They state, not looking up from the onion they are chopping. 

"You're not on stage now! Don't have to be so aggressive." She teases and Jon jumps in surprise, knife clattering on the chopping board. Martin watches their back tense and they freeze. 

Trying to hide a laugh, Martin grins, imagining Jon as an enthusiastic drama kid. "A stage?" He asks in amusement. 

Finally turning around, Jon glares at Georgie. "I hate you." They state. Georgie just smirks at them. 

She looks at them innocently. "You said Martin was your friend… I thought you'd have told him." Georgie says with a smirk. Jon rolls their eyes at her and moves onto chopping some tomato, studiously ignoring her. 

Flushing nervously at his and Jon's friendship, or lack of, Martin picks up his mug again to give his hands something to do. "It's fine… I don't need to know details. I mean, I was never into drama but I've read a few of the classic plays." Martin explains, knowing that he would not want any old stranger knowing about his poetry. Some things are personal. So the least he can do is be interested in their hobbies, even if he doesn't share them.

He realises he must have made a mistake somewhere though as Georgie's eyes have widened and she is trying to hold back a laugh. Jon has frozen their chopping and slowly turns to face Martin. At being on the receiving end of one of Jon's glares, Martin cowers slightly. "I was not a _drama kid!"_ Jon states, pure disgust in their voice. At this Georgie bursts into laughter. "I was not!" Jon exclaims, looking at Georgie in betrayal. 

Continuing her laughter, Georgie snorts. They stare at her while she laughs; Jon in annoyance and Martin in confusion. After a minute or two, she composes herself. "Sure… not a drama kid! ...Just an overdramatic band kid!" She says, sniggering away to herself. 

Realisation washes over Martin. "Oooh! Do you play an instrument?" He asks excitedly. Certainly not reminiscing about school boy crushes on boys with long hair, eyeliner and guitars. 

"Harmonica." Jon mutters. Throwing Martin off. He tries to figure out what type of music would need a harmonica player in their band. 

Georgie sniggers. "What Jon is trying, and failing to say, is they mainly sing." She tells Martin. Now this fact, makes Martin's poor gay heart combust. A singer! Thankfully Jon seems oblivious to Martin's little crisis and apart from looking a little awkward seems unbothered. They wander over to the fridge to get out a bunch of greens and continues chopping. 

"Huh."

"Jon's a lot cooler when they're not trying to be all _professional."_

"Yeah… I think we saw you and him at the pub a week or so ago." 

Georgie's expression turns murderous and Martin is extremely relieved that it's Jon with the knife not her. "THEM. Please use the right pronouns." She spits out. 

Blinking in surprise at her, Martin tries to process what she's told him. "Sorry!" He squeaks out nervously. Turning to Jon, who is putting the ingredients into an instant pot pressure cooker. "Jon? I'm sorry, I know we shouldn't have just assumed. What pronouns do you use?" He asks nervously. 

Turning around from the counter slowly, Jon looks at Martin for a moment, taking in his expression. "They/them." Jon says softly. 

Nodding, Martin looks at them apologetically and smiles. "Thank you for telling me." He says. 

Hearing this, Georgie's expression softens. She turns to look at Jon questioningly. "You didn't tell them?" She asks. Looking awkwardly back at her, they smile ruthfully. They shake their head and Georgie rolls her eyes at them. "Idiot. I know it bothers you." She says fondly. 

"I can tell Sasha and Tim, so they will use the right pronouns for you, if you want?" Martin asks, nervously keeping his eye on Georgie's expression. 

A look of relief crosses Jon's face. "Thank you. That would be appreciated. I… am not very good at telling people." They say. Martin smiles softly at them and is surprised when Georgie lets out a snort. 

"That's an understatement!" She exclaims. Jon glares at her, looking unimpressed. "I didn't know, until I came home and found you wearing one of my skirts!" She explains, Jon turning red at her words. 

"I was nervous!"

"It had been three years!" 

"I… am not good at expressing myself." 

"But we did have fun once we had talked about it, didn't we?" 

"We did." Jon says softly, smiling as they reminisce. Martin flushes at the image of being able to see Jon's legs under a flowy skirt. The kitchen timer they had set starts ringing, pulling them out of the past. Jon turns away and turns the pressure cooker off and moves the contents into the immersion blender and purees it. When they open the pot the spices waft out, filling the kitchen with a delicious scent. Their stomachs all rumble in union and Georgie giggles. She gets up and opens one of the drawers and grabs out some cutlery to set the table. Jon quickly serves up and places the plates in front of them all. Looking nervously at Martin, Jon hovers by his chair. "If you don't like it, I can get you something else? It's just that was what we'd had planned." They say anxiously. 

Georgie rolls her eyes at him. "Oh shush your Sarson ka Saag is delicious!" She says, quickly digging into the food. 

Looking at the food cautiously, Martin dips his spoon in and tastes it. "Mmmm." He hums in satisfaction. He goes in for more and smiles reassuringly at Jon. "It's lovely! What exactly is it?" He asks. 

Lighting up at the praise, Jon smiles in relief. "Sarson ka Saag, it's a traditional North Indian dish. My grandmother taught it to me. It's mainly mustard greens and creamed spiced greens." They explain, finally sitting down at the table and eating their own food. Georgie gives them a knowing look, as they watch Martin excitedly ramble about some of his favourite dishes from his childhood. Laughing at a story of him accidentally doubling the amounts for a cake and ending up with it rising over the cake tin, Jon notices her look and shoots Georgie a glare and then returns to ignoring her sniggering in favour of listening to Martin's stories. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was enough love for Martin today x


	9. Ghost Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loving Martin hours will continue because I say so

The kitchen timer rings out and Martin hurries into the kitchen to check on his bake. Peering in through the oven window, he smiles and grabs the oven mitts to get them out. Opening up the door, he wafts the heat out of his face and pulls the brownies out onto his countertop. He breathes in the freshly baked scent and grins. The doorbell rings and he startles. He quickly picks the brownie pan up and puts them in the fridge to cool. Hurrying towards his door, he pulls the door open and grins when he sees Tim and Sasha on the other side. "Hey Martin!" They exclaim. He ushers them inside and shuts the door behind them. 

"Make yourself at home." He says gesturing to the sofa, while he walks into the kitchen to remove his oven mitts and apron. 

Walking back into the lounge, he sees Sasha sitting cross legged on the sofa and Tim sprawled out with his feet up on the coffee table. "Something smells amazing!" Sasha compliments, smiling up at him. 

Tim nods in agreement. "I hope you're planning on sharing with your very good friends." He says, making a kissy face at him. Martin laughs and nods at the two of them. "So tell us. How was last night? You were quite vague on the details" Tim asks, smirking widely. 

Flushing bright pink, Martin stutters out some nonsense and sinks into his sofa. "Martin! Did you sleep with them?!" Sasha exclaims in amusement. Somehow Martin turns even redder and Tim laughs and Martin's expression. 

Hiding his head in his hands, Martin groans. "No!" He exclaims. Tim makes a sad face at him. "You guys are forgetting the fact that they live with Georgie and are clearly together?!" Martin explains. 

Sasha huffs. "Is this something you've assumed? Or did they say?" She asks. 

Rolling his eyes at her, Martin sighs. "Not explicitly, but they live together and when they texted each other she said 'love you too babe', so I don't think there's much question." He states, having given this question a lot of thought last night. 

From the slightly pitying expression on Sasha's face he knows his conclusion makes sense. Tim looks thoughtful for a minute and then looks at Martin. "How did you even end up at their house? Like what happened yesterday?" He asks in confusion. 

Staring down at his shoes, Martin shuffles awkwardly in his seat. "I met Elias' husband and… it, er, didn't go well." He explains. He hears someone stand up and before he can look up he's enveloped in a hug from Sasha. He sinks into her embraced and lets out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in. 

Another pair of arms encircles him and he chuckles as Tim perches on the arm rest next to him, his face smushed into Martin's neck. "We may joke around, but we are always here for you dude." Tim murmurs into Martin's skin.

"Thank you guys." Martin says, feeling very emotional. Sasha presses a kiss to Martin's forehead. They sit together like that for a while, until Martin's phone vibrates four times in quick succession.

Leaning back, Tim smirks at him. "Someone's popular?" He teases. Martin jokingly whacks his side to get him to shut up. Unfortunately for Tim, this unbalances him and he falls off the arm rest onto the floor with a cry. Martin peers worriedly over the armrest at him, while Sasha bursts into hysterics. "Rude." Tim states. He sits on the floor, pouting at the two of them. Martin's profuse apologies go ignored by Tim, who jokingly glares at him and then with incredible speed crawls across the carpet and grabs Martin's phone from the coffee table. "IT'S JON?!" Tim exclaims. 

Eyes widening, Martin quickly leaps off the sofa from under Sasha and leaps towards Tim trying to grab the phone out of his hand. "Let me see!" He exclaims. Tim tries to hold it out of reach so they end up wrestling for it on the floor. Eventually Martin manages to grab the phone back and leaves Tim lying on the floor laughing. 

**Jon**

Hey I hope you're feeling a bit better today

It's Jon btw

Okay you know that, you saved my number 

I'll just shut up now 

Thank you Jon. I am

Oh! I'm glad 

Although Tim is not getting any brownies now

Oh? What did he do? 

Stole my phone

Very rude

Exactly!

Georgie does that to me all the time, mostly to take silly selfies

Tim's just a nosy gossip

Sounds like Melanie. She has gossip on more people than I know

Are you just antisocial though?

I have friends! 

Why does everyone think I don't? 

You have that vibe

Wow

Sorry!!!

You've just only ever mentioned 2 people and you work with them!

...I swear I have other friends

Alright I believe you!

Thank you. 

A cough from across the room, startles Martin up from his phone. "Care to share with the group?" Sasha teases. He sees Tim has since gotten up off the floor and is now leaning against Sasha on the other sofa. Tim is grinning over at Martin, with a knowing look. 

Feeling the heat in his cheeks, he glances from his phone to the two of them. He sighs. "They wanted to make sure I was feeling okay today." He reluctantly tells them. They both coo and Tim makes suggestive expressions at him. Martin throws a pillow at his head to wipe the smirk off his face. 

Chuckling at Tim's startled swearing, Sasha gives Martin a soft look. "Look Hun. Clearly Jon likes you." She says, expression turning serious. Martin opens his mouth to argue, but she glares at him and signs for quiet. "Regardless of whether that is romantically or platonically, they _like_ you." She explains. 

Staring at her in surprise, Martin contemplates her words. "True. Maybe hold off on the seduction until you know for sure they're available, but as a friend? Hell yes! Go for it!" Tim says, throwing the pillow back at Martin for emphasis. 

They look at him intently, as if they're waiting for him to do something. "What?" Martin asks. 

"Text them!" They exclaim in unison. 

Feeling conflicted, Martin glances between the phone and his friends. "What about you guys?" He asks nervously. 

Rolling her eyes at him, Sasha laughs. "Chuck us the remote and we'll stick Bake Off on." She says. Martin grins at her. It takes a minute of rummaging but he manages to find the TV remote and passes it over to her. 

As Sasha clicks through the guide, Tim makes himself comfortable sprawling across the sofa and half on Sasha's lap. "This will get us right in the mood for those brownies you baked for us." He states, winking at Martin. He rolls his eyes at him, but can't help the smile on his face. 

**Jon**

So how's your research going?

Oh

That's all finished actually 

Oh, cool. I look forward to hearing the episode

...you've listened to the podcast?

Yes?

Well this is embarrassing 

Why? It's cool!

Most people think it's weird

Most people are weird

Is this from personal experience?

Yes

Tim is currently wearing a crop top that says 'I have no tits' across his chest

Meanwhile Sasha is yelling at the TV for misjudging bake-off contestants

Yeah... your friends are weird.

They think I need to be more social

Maybe that would help? 

I've never been very good at making friends thou

Well do you have any plans next Saturday? 

No, why?

You can say no I won't be offended

And it will certainly prove your theory that most people are weird 

Jon

Say no to what?

Oh! 

My band is having a show 

We do an after party at me and Georgie's place after as well 

Wait

You're in a band???

A high pitched squeal escapes Martin's lips, startling Tim and Sasha out of their argument about the quality of the bakes on the TV. "Excuse me?" Tim asks with a grin. 

"Jon's in a band." Martin says breathlessly. He flushes red in embarrassment and looks from the phone to his friends. 

Sasha laughs. "A band?" She says. Martin stares at her mutely and nods. Tim looks astonished. They stare at each other in understanding. His phone vibrates in his lap, making him jump. "Answer them!" She hisses, throwing a pillow at him. 

**Jon**

Yes. Would you like to come? 

I would love to!

Thank you for inviting me

Okay, I'll get you a ticket

Do I need to bring anything?

You can donate some booze or snacks towards the party if you wanted to? 

But otherwise, just yourself

Okay!

Crashing his head back against the sofa, Martin giggles happily. Tim and Sasha smirk at him from the other sofa. "You look like someone who's pulled!" Tim teases. He gets a pillow thrown at him by Martin, who gasps and stutters denials. 

Chuckling beside him, Sasha hops off the sofa to sit next to Martin. She rests her head on his shoulder and looks up at him, batting her eyelashes at him. "How's it going?" She asks hopefully. Martin flicks his eyes down to her, trying to hold back a smile. He opens his phone and shows her the messages. As she reads, her grin grows and she coos. 

Looking heartbroken at being left out of this gossip, Tim clambours off the sofa and hurries towards them. "What! What's going on?" He asks desperately. Martin quickly turns the screen off and mimes zipping his lips closed. Sasha giggles as Tim gasps in betrayal. "JUDAS!" he exclaims, gesturing wildly at him. 

Tim begins pouting, knowing that Martin is a sucker for a sad face. Rolling his eyes he raises his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine, you win." Martin says, admitting defeat. He chucks the phone over at Tim, who excitedly catches it and huddles over it. "I'm going to cut the brownies. Don't make me regret this!" He says, giving Tim a look. He waves a hand in acknowledgment without looking up. Sighing, Martin heads into the kitchen and gets the brownies out of the fridge. He methodically cuts them into even sections, zoning out of the background noise. Finally, he sprinkles icing sugar on them and plates them up. 

Walking back into the living room, Tim and Sasha are both bent over the phone giggling. Martin coughs to get their attention. They both startle and look up at him with guilty expressions on their faces. Sasha looks at Tim and then leaps up off the sofa. "Ooh Martin! Those look delicious!" She exclaims, running over to him and grabbing a brownie off of the plate. Standing between him and Tim, she takes a big bite and moans. 

Trying to peer around her to see what Tim is doing with his phone, Martin gives Sasha a sceptical look. "What are you two doing?" He asks. 

Giving him a look of blissful ignorance, Tim gets up and hands him his phone back and steals a brownie off the plate. "Nothing. We were just discussing what you should wear to meet them!" He says with a smirk. Placing the plate down on the coffee table out of the way, Martin opens up his conversation with Jon and is surprised to see no additional messages. He eyes up the two of them, but can't be bothered to try and figure out exactly what they were up to at the moment. Ignoring them, he takes a picture of the brownies and sends them to Jon, not wanting to stop talking to them yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! My schedules quite busy over the next few weeks as I'm starting a new job but I will do my best to keep this rough schedule going!! Comments will always convince me to write more thou ;)


	10. Space Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gangs all together!!

Shrugging out of the millionth shirt he's tried on, Martin sighs and pulls on the next one in his pile. Too plain. Too fancy. Doesn't fit right. Too big. None of them are the look he's going for. Not that he knows exactly what that look is. He looks back at his wardrobe and realises he's used up all of his options. With a cry of frustration, Martin sinks down onto his bedroom floor and stares defeatedly at his mirror. 

**Archive Gang(bang)**

**Martin**

I need help! 

What should I wear for the show???

**Sasha**

Wear what makes you comfortable Martin! 

**Tim**

No offense Sasha, but no. 

Show me what you got? 

**Martin**

_ (Five images of Martin's potential outfit choices) _

**Tim**

Hmm

Give me the jeans in 3 and the shirt in 1?

**Martin**

_ (Image of outfit) _

**Tim**

Getting there

French tuck the shirt 

And can you still put earrings in? 

**Martin**

How do you know I had my ears pierced?!

**Sasha**

Martin. We work together 

**Tim**

Er, I have eyes? 

**Martin**

Omg

**Tim**

Stop dithering! Come on pic! 

**Martin**

Eugh why did I ask your advice

**Tim**

Because I am a fashion icon 

**Martin**

Fine

_ (Pic of outfit with small black studs in his ears) _

**Tim**

What's your opinion on make-up?

**Martin**

No

**Tim**

But it would look so good! 

Like only subtle but it would make the outfit! 

**Martin**

I'll think about it

  
  


He looks at himself in the mirror, spinning around to see the outfit from all angles. Much as he hates to admit, Tim does give good advice. His eyes keep being drawn to the earrings. He hasn't worn them since he was about fifteen, as he was worried about employers not taking him seriously or people on the street judging him. Now though, he is surprised by how much he likes seeing them there. His eyes flick to the draw in his bedside table, that he knows has a tube of mascara and an eyeliner pencil squirreled away, from a few adventurous nights out years ago. The voices in his head start to criticise him, telling him all the reasons he shouldn't, but they sound suspiciously like his mother and past classmates. Taking a deep breath he pushes those thoughts out and focuses on himself and what he likes. 

Nervously, he walks over to the bedside table and opens the draw, rummaging to the back to find the tube of mascara. It looks a bit old, so he hopes it will be okay to use still. Taking it into the bathroom, he carefully applies the mascara to his eyelashes. Looking at the result in the mirror he chuckles at the smudges on his eyelids. Wiping the smudges off, he looks at himself again and feels good about his reflection for once. He smiles. His phone rings, telling him that his taxi is outside. A fresh wave of panic runs through him. Anxiously he pats his pockets for keys, wallet and phone. Giving himself one last look in the mirror, he hurries down the stairs and out into the taxi. 

***

Arriving at the venue, Martin sees a small gathering of people spilling out onto the pavement. The crowd seems enthusiastic and he's confused by the amount of makeup and goggles on some of them. Walking up to the doors, Martin shows them the barcode Jon had sent him earlier in the week. They scan it and wave him through, relief flowing through him. The venue is relatively dark, with colourful lights on the walls. A small crowd is at the front by the stage, while most people are still loosely hanging around in groups or near the bar. His hands shake slightly and he glances around, not sure what to do now and feeling a bit lost. 

Glancing at the bar, he is just considering ordering a drink, so at least he would have something to do with his hands, when Georgie runs up to him. "Martin! Hey! Jon told me to keep an eye out for you! It's good to see you again." She exclaims. Georgie is wearing a soft pink top and high waisted jeans, and has big hoops in her ears.

Grinning at her, Martin tries to calm himself down again. "Hi, oh that's nice of you." He says. 

She takes his arm. "Come on, we're sat over here." She says, pulling him through the crowd towards the edge of the room by the stage. Georgie slides into a chair, next to a woman with dyed green hair, dark glasses and a denim jacket with various patches on. "I'm back babe." She says to the other woman. 

Turning towards Georgie, she smiles. "Found him alright?" She asks. 

"Yep! Melanie this is Martin, Martin this is Melanie." Georgie says, gesturing between the two of them. Melanie holds out a hand and after a moment of confusion, Martin takes it. They shake and Martin nervously settles into the chair in front of him. Georgie's phone vibrates and she pulls it out. "Ooh Daisy's just heading over!" She tells Melanie. 

Melanie chuckles and takes a sip of her drink. "This'll be interesting." She mutters. 

Before Martin can question what she means a broad shouldered woman with short cropped blond hair walks towards them. She clears her throat aggressively at a couple who don't immediately move out of her way. Startling, they jump to look at her. The guy looks like he's going to go for her, but then he sees her cane and shrugs, pulling his girlfriend away. Daisy joins them at the table, hanging her cane over the back of her chair. She looks Martin up and down, with an unimpressed look. "Who's the new kid?" She asks, turning to face Georgie and Melanie. 

Melanie grins at her. "Sup." She says, holding out a fist in Daisy's direction. They fist bump, while Georgie shakes her head at them in amusement. "He's Jon's new friend. Martin." Melanie tells her. Daisy grunts and leans her elbows on the table. 

"Hi!" Martin squeaks out. 

Daisy just grunts at him again. "Jon ready for the show?" She asks the two of them. 

Georgie shrugs. "You know what they're like. Ball of anxiety until they step out and then bam! They're Jonny D'Ville!" She says in amusement. 

Turning towards Daisy, Melanie leans in close. "They've been humming the songs for weeks, even I know it off by heart." She tells her. Daisy laughs.

"I know that feeling. Basira's been bad enough." She tells them. They chuckle in agreement. "Basira is my partner." She says in challenge to Martin. 

Flushing red at the intense stare, Martin stutters. "Cool… Is she also in the band?" Martin asks nervously. She gives him an intent look and then almost smiles. She nods, seemingly relaxing more in his company. 

Hands grasp his shoulders from behind, making Martin squeal. Spinning in his seat, he sees Tim and Sasha grinning widely at him. "Surprise!" They exclaim in unison. 

"Christ! What are you guys doing here?" Martin exclaims, clasping a hand over his heart, hoping to calm it's racing beat. 

The two of them share a look. Now that Martin has had time to catch his breath he takes in their outfits and chuckles. Sasha is wearing a white turtleneck and a black mini skirt, however, Tim is wearing a pale blue floral shirt with over half of the buttons undone and black skinny jeans, with large ripped sections, showing fishnet tights underneath. The outfits are completed by both of them wearing giant fake eyelashes and glitter on their faces. "We may have borrowed Jon's number when you gave me your phone." Tim explains, giving him an apologetic look. 

"And Jon invited you?"

"Well, not exactly. We invited ourselves, but they sent us the link to buy tickets!"

"You're idiots." 

The two of them shrug and join the table in the remaining seats. "Hi! I'm Sasha, this is Tim." She says introducing themselves to the rest of the table. 

Daisy is looking at the two of them as if she is trying to figure out the quickest way to get them away, and possibly murder them. "Daisy. Chill. I am not helping you bury bodies now. We'd miss the show." Melanie states. 

Successfully scaring the archive gang into wide eyed statues. Georgie laughs. "Stop scaring them! Jon told me they wanted to apologize for using the wrong pronouns, so at least give them a chance!" She says, knocking her arm into Melanie's. 

Leaning into her side, Melanie smiles. "Fine. Hello then." Daisy says reluctantly. Tim and Sasha nervously murmur greetings back. 

Shaking her head at them, Georgie tries to steer the conversation away from the talk of murder. "Right, so this is Daisy, this is Melanie and I'm Georgie. Don't take her too seriously, she's just protective of Jon." Georgie tells them, pointing to each of them. They smile in greeting and Martin just hopes that everyone is going to settle down and be a bit more friendly. 

After taking the final sip of her drink, Melanie leans over to Georgie. "Babe, can you get me a refill?" She asks. 

She nods. "Sure babe. Be back in a sec." She says, pressing a kiss to Melanie's forehead. She collects the empty glasses up to clear the table. 

Perking up at the thought of drinks, Tim stands up. "I'll come with you, get some drinks for us." He says, nodding to Sasha and Martin. They head over to the bar, meanwhile Martin shares a hopefully look at Sasha, who smiles reassuringly at him. 

Tapping her nails against the table, Melanie sighs. "So, you two work at the Magnus Institute then?" She asks. 

Sasha nods and then realises her mistake. "Yes. We all work together." She says. 

Daisy rolls her eyes. "More ghost hunters." She states, rolling her eyes. Melanie hits her arm and laughs. 

"What do you do then Daisy?" Martin asks nervously. 

Her grin is sharp. "I was police. Same as Basira, but when my health went down, they were pretty shitty. So now I do the desk work and stuff for Basira, now that she's a private investigator." She tells them. Martin nods, eyes wide, feeling very intimidated. 

Glancing over at the bar, Sasha sees Tim and Georgie are still waiting to be served and appear to be getting on well. "You never wanted to be a part of the band then?" Sasha asks Daisy. 

Scoffing, Daisy laughs. "No! Dressing up as space pirates is not my thing." She chuckles. Martin stares at her in confusion, before turning to Sasha and mouthing: 'Space pirates?...' Sasha shrugs in confusion. "Basira uses it as a stress relief thing, but I just knit." Daisy adds.

Gasping in surprise, Martin goes full heart eyes on Daisy. "You knit?" He asks excitedly, almost vibrating in his seat. Meeting Martin's eyes, Daisy blinks at him and then nods. "I knit too! I find it really helps me calm down and focus." He explains. 

Lighting up in understanding, Daisy nods enthusiastically. "Yes! What do you make?" She asks, a smile creeping onto her face. 

"Jumpers, scarves, gloves, anything really." 

"Nice! I tend to stick to squares. I make them into blankets." 

"That's so cool!"

Turning in Sasha's direction, Melanie smirks. "They're gonna have a knitting club by tomorrow aren't they?" She states, looking amused. 

Sasha laughs. "Martin's been waiting for someone to share patterns with for so long!" She tells her. 

"Daisy tried to teach Jon, and… well she's never tried again!" Melanie teases. 

Gasping and chuckling in remembrance. "I have never seen anyone get so tangled in wool, in my life." Daisy adds, joining their conversation. 

Joining the rest of them, Georgie and Tim slide the drinks onto the table. "There you go love." Georgie says, pushing the drink towards Melanie. She slowly reaches out and grabs it, smiling in thanks. "We were just in time, sounds like they're going to start in a minute." Georgie says excitedly, bouncing up and down in the chair, trying to peer onto the stage to see them. 

The lights in the main room dim and the stage lights brighten. The crowds all cheer and everyone hurries towards the stage. The crew stride onto the stage from both sides, to the excited cries of the crowd. Jonny saunters to the centre of the stage, and sits with one foot on the stage and one dangling down off the side. They are decked out in a brown waistcoat, hair pushed back from their eyes with a pair of circular goggles on their forehead. Martin gasps when he sees the dark lines of eyeliner streaming across their face. Raphaella follows, setting herself up behind Jonny and the keyboard, her wings spreading across behind her. Ashes comes on from the left with her electric guitar. She is wearing a bright red hijab and dark black clothes. Marius positions himself on the left side of the stage, holding out his fiddle with pride. Drumbot Brian positions himself between Jonny and Raphaella sitting on the box. Gunpowder Tim saunters on from the right and sets up his guitar, long hair flowing across his shoulders and dark eyeliner lines straight above and below his eyes. Finally Ivy follows Tim on from the right, her bright red hair tightly pulled back and gets out her flute. 

The crew carry out the final tuning and then Jonny rises from their seat and picks up the microphone. The other crew members start up a jovial beat and then Jonny begins. "Killers and renegades, liars and thieves, welcome! We are the Mechanisms!" Jonny begins, making the crowd roar. "Roaming through the galaxy having fun, violence, adventure, violence… Allow me a brief moment of self-indulgence to introduce to you, the crew of our mighty starship! There's Drumbot Brian, our pilot! Ashes O'Reily, our quartermaster! Gunpowder Tim, our gunner! Baron Marius von Braum, the ship's doctor! Raphaella la Cognizi, Science officer! Ivy Alexander, our archivist. And last, but the very opposite of least. Myself. Jonny D'Ville! Your humble Captain." They say bowing lowly, as the crowd boos loudly. 

"FIRST MATE!" Everyone calls back, including Georgie, Melanie and Daisy. Chuckling in surprise at the very loud contradiction, Martin, Sasha and Tim all share a look. 

"Really? You can't give me this? ...sometimes I don't know why I bother." Jonny asks, sounding very unimpressed. They make some vague hand gestures and rolls their eyes. The music dies down and the crowd cheers. "We have just a few stories for you, so we thought we'd tell you one of our grander tales. Shall we?" They say, as the crew prepares to start a new beat. 

"The bifrost incident, any school child could tell you about it. The fall of the old order, two hundred years of Asgardian hubris come together in a single epoch defining event. The maiden voyage of a train through the stars vanished without a trace…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you haven't listened to the Bifrost incident, this is definitley the point to do that. Otherwise certain things will sound very strange!


	11. Ghost clones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just haven't been able to write as much as I wanted to and it feels like pulling teeth, but I didn't want to leave you too long!

"Inspector second class Lyfrassir Edda signing off. Good luck." Jonny concludes, the sound of static cutting in, drowning out anything else. Tuning back into focus a voice calls out for mayday, a heavy beat rising in the background. The static is interspersed with calls for help, assistance, for anyone to hear them, until it all cuts out with a clang and then silence. 

Claps and cheers erupt from the crowd. Tim and Sasha share a look, as Martin watches Jonny with lovestruck eyes. Georgie leaps up and whistles at Jonny, while Melanie remains seated, laughing at her girlfriend's antics. Daisy thumps on the table with one fist and bangs her cane on the floor with the other. Georgie shouts something to Melanie and then slips away from the group. 

The crew all do a flourish. "Right you lousy lot. CDs and merch will be available by the door, sold by the lovely Georgie Barker. Me and my crew will be milling around for a little while so come and say hi. Other than that, have a good night!" Jonny says, bowing to the crowd. They all cheer once more and the band disperse into the crowd. 

Downing the last of her drink, Melanie turns to the group. "They'll be mixing for ages yet if you want to get another round?" She asks, grinning hopefully. 

Chuckling, Sasha gets up. "I'll go this time." She says, patting Tim's shoulder on her way past to the bar. He smiles and watches her walk away. Melanie cheers and holds her hand out, which Daisy high fives. 

Martin is still staring dazed at the empty stage. Daisy punches his arm, "So you liked the show?" She asks. 

Jumping, Martin spins around to face her and rubs his arm in pain. "Yeah." He says, still dazed. She grins knowingly at him. "I mean, how do they come up with that stuff?" He asks, voice growing in excitement. 

Melanie laughs. "Jon's head is a disturbing place." She jokes. 

Snorting, Daisy shakes her head. "It's not just Jon, they're all as mad as each other. Basira hosted a writing session a while ago and all their ideas are weird." She says chuckling. 

Laughing in agreement, Tim grins. "It certainly wasn't what I expected, when I found out they were in a band." He says, giving Martin a wink. 

Sasha walks back with a tray full of drinks and hands them out. "I thought it was so good! I loved the Loki and Sigyn plot line!" She says excitedly, as she sits back down at the table. 

An upward quirk of the lips is almost visible on Daisy's face. Snorting, Melanie grins. "Yea, Jon's a closet romantic. Starts writing horror and about halfway it turns into a romance." She states in amusement. Martin flushes red at the thought and takes a sip of his drink to cool down. 

Taking a deep breath, Martin turns back to Daisy. "So who was Basira playing?" He asks her. 

"Sigyn, she's Ashes O'Reily in the crew." Daisy tells him. He thinks back to the crew members and smiles when he remembers her. "Oh there she is." She says, waving someone one over towards their table.

The woman comes over and stands next to Daisy. "Hey. How are you feeling? Still up for the party?" She asks softly. 

Rolling her eyes at her, Daisy huffs. "Yes. I just wanted you to meet these guys." She says gesturing at the rest of the table. At this, she looks up and examines each of them with a critical eye. "Basira, Martin, Sasha and Tim." She says gesturing at each of them in turn. 

Basira nods at them in acknowledgment. "So did you like the show?" She asks. 

They all nod and Sasha excitedly starts rambling. "I thought it was awesome! I just loved you as Sigyn! It was so emotional!" She exclaims, almost leaping up and down in her chair. 

"Thanks." Basira says, then turns back to Melanie and Daisy. "Right I'll be back in a bit, I don't think Jonny was planning on us hanging around for long." She explains, knocking her knuckles against Daisy's and walking off to do another circuit of the room. 

Together, they finish their drinks while chatting, as the crowd begins to thin out as people head out into the night. The crew have all headed into the back by now to get changed and gather their stuff together. Georgie joins their group again, after closing the merch table. She kisses Melanie's cheek and then whistles at someone behind Martin. He turns round and freezes. Jon is walking towards them with an off the shoulder top, tight skinny jeans and has their hair loose over their shoulders, large hoop earrings and the smudgy remnants of eyeliner and mascara on their face. They put their middle finger up at Georgie, and roll their eyes. Martin stares, heart skipping a beat and possibly squeaks when Jon looks at him and smiles. "Are you in heels?" He asks, seeing that Jon is a bit closer to his own height at the moment. 

Blinking in surprise, Jon flushes and fiddles with their hair awkwardly. "Yes?" They say cautiously. 

Feeling mortified at his outburst Martin internally screams. "Cool… cool, cool, cool." He murmurs. Jon looks slightly relieved at that, but is still shuffling on their feet nervously. "I loved the show! Thank you for inviting me." He says, hoping to salvage something from this conversation. 

"Oh. You're very welcome." 

"I have absolutely no idea how you did all of that chanting!" 

Letting out a laugh, Jon grins. "A lot of practise." They say, remembering the many evenings spent repeating the invocation of Yog Sothoth over and over again.

They're interrupted by Georgie leaping up and throwing her arms around Jon and kissing their cheek. "Congrats! You did amazing." She exclaims. Triggering the rest of the table to converge on them with their own congratulations and praise.

Taking this as a chance to compose himself, Martin takes a deep breath. He jumps when Tim sneaks up behind him and wraps an arm around his shoulder. "Man, you've got it bad." He teases, his breath tickling Martin's ear. 

"Oh shut up!" Martin exclaims, making Tim burst out laughing. 

"Right! Everyone ready to go?" Georgie calls over the general chatter of the room. Murmurs of agreement are said in response, as everyone begins collecting coats and bags. Turning to Tim and Sasha, Georgie grins. "You two are welcome to come back as well? If you want?" She asks, as she takes Melanie's elbow. 

Turning to Sasha, Tim grins and wiggles his eyebrows at her. "I'm game, if you are?" He asks. She grins and nods, looking excitedly at the gathered group. 

Walking arm in arm, Georgie and Melanie lead the gang out into the brisk evening air. They all end up piling into a couple of cabs, all buzzing with excitement. It's a short drive before they're all tumbling out into the street, while Georgie unlocks the front door of their house. Martin glances around and sees Jon and Daisy slowly walking down the path with their pinkies interlocked. Excited cries come from the door as Melanie crouches down to fuss Rufus, who is wagging his tail excitedly at the door. 

Once they're all inside, Georgie gestures to the drinks out on the table in the kitchen and then settles into the living room. Martin and Sasha go into the kitchen to make drinks, and Martin shuffles about nervously at the thought of going into the other room with everyone else. Before he can panic too much though, Tim comes running up to them dragging a guy behind him. "Guys! This is Tim! My cyberpunk clone!" He calls out excitedly. Gunpowder Tim does a dramatic flourish of a bow, lowering his top hat in greetings. 

Snorting with laughter, Sasha shakes her head at him. "Having the same name does not make him your clone!" She tells him. 

Gasping in betrayal, Tim crosses his arms over his chest. "Rude." He exclaims. Looping his arm back around Gunpowder Tim's, he huffs. "We're going to go and play 'never have I ever'. I need to know if I'm the cooler clone." He says dramatically, grabbing a bottle of vodka on their way past. 

"Unlikely!" Sasha calls teasingly after them and Tim sticks his tongue out at her, while Gunpowder Tim blows her a kiss over his shoulder. Chuckling, Sasha passes Martin his drink. "Come on, let's get to know people." She says, putting an arm around Martin's waist and dragging him towards the living room as he groans. 

Walking into the other room, they see Georgie and Melanie are cuddled up on one sofa with Rufus lying protectively at Melanie's feet. Daisy is sat on another sofa, with Jon sat on the floor between her legs as she braids their hair. The Admiral is sat on Jon's lap, giving wary looks in Rufus's direction. Basira is perched on a side table, with the crew member Ivy Alexandria leaning against the wall next to her. Raphaella and Marius push past them into the kitchen giggling as they go. "Bets on Raphaella winning?" Ivy asks from the corner. 

A chorus of 'Aye's are heard from the gang. "Nah, I'll support Marius this time." Jon pipes up from the floor. Martin and Sasha share a confused look. The rest of the crew all look at them in disbelief. "What? Maybe I'm feeling sentimental? You know Marius likes Lyf." Jon states. 

Rolling her eyes at them, Ivy turns back to Basira. Sasha leans in and whispers in Martin's ear. "Go on, now's your chance!" She says, giving him a slight nudge towards Daisy and Jon. He gives her a panicked look as she walks over to Basira and Ivy instead of staying by his side. Sasha watches him nervously sit next to them and smiles, she looks up at Ivy. "So what were those two doing?" She asks, gesturing back to where Raphaella and Marius had run off to. 

Nudging her glasses up her nose, Ivy looks at Sasha in surprise. "Arm wrestling." She states, as if it were obvious. They hear Raphaella's cries of victory from the kitchen and the crew all snicker. 

Walking in with his head held low, Marius walks up to Jon. "Your support was appreciated, but I let you down, I'm sorry." He says, leaning down and cupping Jon's cheeks. He gives their forehead a big wet kiss, before Jon bats him away with a look of disgust. 

Glaring at Marius from behind them, Daisy points a finger at him threateningly. "Not when I'm braiding." She states, giving him the evil eye. 

Marius's eyes widen and he holds his hands up in surrender. He slowly backs away from her, before turning and running. "I demand a rematch!" He calls out as he goes. 

Wiping at their forehead, Jon's look of disgust fades and they quickly fall back into conversation with Daisy and Martin. Sasha watches all this in confusion. "Is Jon actually dating anyone? Or is this all… normal?" She asks Ivy and Basira, with some vague hand gestures in Jon's direction. 

"YES! We all love Jonny very much!" The Toy Soldier exclaims, seemingly popping up out of nowhere. Sasha leaps out of her skin in shock. She clutches at her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. 

"No. Jon's not dating anyone. We all know they're not interested, so some of it is joking around. Although I think a few have tried to flirt with them to no success." Ivy explains, talking as if someone hasn't just randomly popped up into their conversation. 

Basira puts down her glass of water. "Why? Are you interested in Jon?" She asks, giving her a calculated stare. Eyes widening and looking over at Jon in horror, she shakes her head. "Ooh, you are with that other Tim then?" She asks. 

Nearly choking on her own spit, she shakes her head even more thoroughly. "What? No! We're just friends!" She exclaims, trying to keep her voice down so that no one else can hear their conversation. Basira gives her a disbelieving look but drops it. 

Conversation starts back up and she listens, getting to know them better. They bring her into the conversation when they discuss ghosts and their love of books and libraries. She shares some stories about how badly organised the Institute was when she took over and they all gasped in horror at Gertrude's filing system. They all turn to stare at the others when Jon lets out a loud bark of a laugh at something Martin has said. Watching them for a few minutes, they all silently judge their interactions. "They're quite chummy aren't they?" The Toy Soldier chirps up, surprising Sasha once again. 

Basira and Ivy hum in agreement and nod. Sasha opens her mouth to comment, but just then a rather drunk Marius stumbles into the room with a bottle of whiskey in one hand. He raises it in a toast. Raphaella runs in after him and giggles, crashes into his back making them both stumble. Straightening up and trying to hold in giggles, they begin a dramatic reenactment of Drunk Space Pirate. The rest of the crew quickly join in, amusement thick in their voices and the pairs closeness is soon forgotten. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love the mechs gang so much


	12. Sleepy ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again! Enjoy some more pining idiots :)

The blurry edges of sleep start to retreat as the sensation of wetness on their cheek begins to creep into their awareness. Lazily reaching a hand up to wipe at their cheek, Jon tries to ignore the feeling and nuzzles deeper into the warmth. The wetness comes again, and trickling into their senses Jon hears the sound of giggling. Blinking an eye open, they get the view of teeth and hot breath on their face. "Morning Rufus." They murmur, reaching out blindly to pat his head. More laughter is heard so reluctantly, Jon looks up to see Melanie standing behind Rufus, with Georgie whispering into her ear. The pounding in their head is becoming more prominent, so this interruption to wallowing in their hangover is very unwelcome. "What have you done?" They ask, throwing their arm over their face. Jon hears more laughter and then the click of shutter, making them groan. Moving their other arm they try to sit up, but their elbow connects with something soft and a groan sounds by their head. Jon freezes. 

Movement stirs from beneath them and Georgie cackles from the sidelines. "...Jon?" A voice asks, deep and cracking with sleep. A brief surge of relief floods through them when they recognise the voice as Martin. This quickly dissipates when they realise that they are currently lying on top of him; head resting on his chest and their leg thrown over Martin's. Rolling away, Jon properly wakes up when they roll off the edge of the sofa and land with a thump on the floor. Letting out of a grunt of pain, Rufus very helpfully snuffles around their face and noses their ear. "Are you okay?" Martin asks worriedly, peering over the edge of the sofa to look at them. 

Flushing, as they look up at him and see the concern in his eyes along with crease lines from sleep and his hair sticking in all directions. "Yes…" Jon says unconvincingly. 

A foot taps Jon's side and they hear Melanie snort. "Whatcha doing down there then?" She teases. 

Both Jon and Martin's eyes immediately dart to look at Melanie, before meeting each other's eyes. They both cringe and then Jon bursts out laughing. Martin just looks startled at this outburst and nervously glances from Melanie to Georgie. "Sorry to wake you up but you both looked adorable!" Georgie exclaims, pulling her phone and and scrolling until she pulls up the recent snap of them asleep and holds it out to Martin. He flushes bright pink and brings his hands up in front of his face to hide from embarrassment. 

Having managed to control their laughter, Jon makes grabby hands at the phone to see the photo. They stare at it for a minute, expression inscrutable, then hands it back to Georgie. "Cute, send that to me will you?" They ask, making Martin squeak in indignation. 

A cunning look spreads onto Georgie's face and she nods, typing away on the phone. Jon drops their head down onto the floor and pats down their pockets to find their phone. Coming up empty they sigh. "Martin… is my phone on the side table?" They ask, giving him the cute puppy eyes. Flushing, Martin quickly looks away and turns to check. He hums in agreement and reaches out to grab it and passes it down to Jon. They grin in thanks and open it up to check their notifications. 

**Sasha**

Made it home, thank you for inviting us! I had a great night :) 

**Daisy**

I approve of your friend. I hope you don't mind that I got his number? 

**Mechanisms and co.**

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

Well I think the show went amazing! 

Well done everyone! 

**Ivy Alexander**

I agree. 

**Marius Von Braum**

Was greath u lhad fun 

**Toy Soldier**

Get some sleep Marius! You need to look after yourself! You don't want eye bags and wrinkles do you??? 

**Marius Von Braum**

Nooooooo 

**Ashes O'Reily**

Drink some water too.

**Marius Von Braum**

Okayyy mom 

***

**Georgie**

Look at our first mate!! 

_ (Image of Jon and Martin asleep in the sofa)  _

**Toy Soldier**

HOW CUTE

**Ashes O'Reily**

Well at least someone got some sleep last night

@MariusVonBraum How are you feeling this morning? 

**Raphaella la Cognizi**

Don't expect him to be awake! 

He was drowning the sorrows of his loss to me till late 

**Daisy**

Aren't you two looking cosy there

**Jonny D'Ville**

@Georgie I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD SEND IT HERE

**Toy Soldier**

Why do you not want us to see this? Are you ashamed of him? 

**Daisy**

Yes Jon, are you ashamed? 

**Jonny D'Ville**

I hate all of you

**Toy Soldier**

I thought he was DELIGHTFUL 

**Georgie**

True 

Clearly Martin is your favourite person atm ;) 

**Jonny D'Ville**

Do you want me to start getting out my blackmail?

**Georgie**

Eugh you're no fun 

Huffing at Georgie's comments, Jon gives her a glare and puts their middle finger up at her. Dragging themself up into an upright position, Jon stretches out their shoulders and back. "Water? Painkillers?" They ask Martin. 

Rubbing a hand through his hair, Martin nods and his jaw stretches open in a big yawn. "Please." He murmurs. Jon nods in acknowledgment and pads out into the kitchen. Martin rummages around and eventually pulls his phone out from between the cushions of the sofa. Melanie and Georgie have settled down on the other sofa and switch the TV on to the news. Jon walks back in, looking slightly more awake. They hand Martin one of the glasses of water and drops two tablets into his palm. "Thanks." Martin murmurs, quickly swallowing them and gulping down the water. Jon drops down onto the sofa, side pressed up against Martin. Flushing Martin shuffles across the sofa to give them some more space between them. After a minute of staring blankly at the empty space between them, Jon gives Martin a confused look. He quickly looks down at his phone and doesn't meet Jon's questioning gaze. 

**Archive Gang(bang)**

**Sasha**

I'm home :) 

Let me know when you guys leave, so I won't worry about you! 

***

Okay I may have fallen asleep about a minute after sending that but you could have replied! 

**Martin**

Sorry! I'm okay 

Haven't actually left yet…

Fell asleep on the sofa

**Sasha**

Ahaha 

Are you sure? ;) 

You can tell us! 

**Martin**

SASHA! 

NO

**Sasha**

Damn 

You were getting on so well

**Martin**

Please stop!

They are sat next to me

**Sasha**

Whoops! ;P

**Martin**

No sign of Tim yet then?

**Sasha**

Doesn't look like it

He was still there when I left last night 

**Martin**

Must have been quite late then

**Tim**

Please stop messaging

He is asleep and his bloody ringtone is hurting my head 

**Sasha**

WHO ARE YOU?

**Martin**

Why are you on Tim's phone??

**Tim**

Oh I'm Jon's friend Tim

And I am not a heavy sleeper like Tim so I can't go back to sleep while his phone keeps beeping!! 

Gasping in surprise, Martin presses his hand to his mouth and lets out a breathy laugh. "What?" Jon asks, knocking their elbow against Martin's side. He stares at the messages for a minute and then turns the phone so Jon can read the most recent text. There's a pause while they read and then Jon laughs. Georgie looks over at them in confusion. "The Tim's went home together!" Jon exclaims.

They both startle when Melanie cheers in celebration. "Ha! Told you!" She exclaims, sticking her tongue out at Georgie. 

Georgie groans. "Damn it." She sighs. Martin and Jon both stare at them in confusion. Georgie rolls her eyes at them. "They were still here when we went to lock up last night. They were all over each other, so we bet on whether they would go home together or not." She explains. 

Snorting, Melanie laughs. "You're too used to people being incapable of talking about feelings." She teases Georgie. 

Humming in agreement, Georgie nods. Jon's face scrunches up in a frown. "Are you talking about me?" They ask, head tilting sideways. 

"Yes." Melanie states bluntly. Jon huffs and Martin has to hold in his laughter at the annoyed but resigned look that crosses their face. "I mean you drove Tim mad with your obliviousness!" She says chuckling in memory. 

Staring at them blankly, Jon's expression turns very confused. There's a minute of silence and then Georgie gasps in realisation. "You still don't know do you?" She exclaims. 

"Know what?!" 

Biting her lip to stop herself from laughing, Melanie holds her hand over her mouth. "That Tim originally joined the band because he wanted to sleep with you?" Georgie exclaims between giggles. 

"WHAT?!" 

Jaw hanging open in shock, Jon stares at them. Martin giggles. "You're adorable." Martin murmurs, words coming out of his mouth before his brain can catch up. 

Freezing in horror, Martin flushes bright red. Jon slowly turns to face him, still looking just as baffled. They pull a look of disgust and indignation. "I am not adorable." They mutter to themselves, blinking blankly into space. Melanie and Georgie both snigger from the corner, taking in the scene in amusement. 

Leaping up off the sofa in embarrassment, Martin brushes his jeans off and clears his throat. "Right! Well I should be heading home really…" Martin states, patting down his pockets to make sure he'd got his phone, wallet and keys. He looks over at Melanie and Georgie, who have matching grins on their faces and quickly looks away in embarrassment. "Nice to see you two!" He exclaims, with a quick wave and then hurries out into the hallway to find his shoes. 

He is just pulling his shoes on, when Jon stumbles into the hall after him. They stare at each other in silence, trying to read each other's expressions. "Make sure you text me when you get home?" Jon asks nervously, shuffling from foot to foot. Martin smiles in relief and nods. Jon's answering smile leaves Martin's stomach awash with nervous butterflies. Breaking eye contact after realising they'd just been standing there grinning at each other, Martin turns and opens the front door. He looks back over his shoulder at Jon, and gives them a small wave before closing the door firmly between them. Taking a deep breath, Martin leans back against the front door, holds his palm over his mouth and internally screams. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna be honest, I have no idea where GP Tim/Tim came from but it's happened and I'm sticking with it and it will fit into my plot!!


	13. Possessive ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Enjoy :)

Typing away on his computer, Martin glances over at Tim's desk when he hears a groan. Tim's head is slumped down over his desk and his sunglasses have slipped down his nose. "Why do Monday mornings exist?" Tim mutters, mostly to himself. Martin chuckles and gives him a sympathetic look. 

Before he can offer Tim anything, Sasha opens up her office door and leans on the doorframe. "Martin, can you just have a quick tidy around, please? Apparently Elias has a patron coming round who wants a tour of the place." She asks, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Martin rolls his eyes good naturedly at her and nods, saving his work and getting up from his chair. 

Once Martin has started shuffling around, tidying up files and putting various bits of rubbish in the bin, Tim slowly glances up at Sasha. "What about me, Bosslady?" Tim asks, voice sounding a little bit croaky. 

She looks at him with pity. "Just focus on not dying over there okay?" She teases. Tim returns to resting his head on his fist, he pushes the sunglasses up on his nose and gives her a weak thumbs up. She shakes her head at him and returns back into her office, leaving the door open. 

It doesn't take long before the room is looking at least slightly more respectable and Martin settles back in behind his desk. He is just getting back into the zone of his work, when the door opens and Elias comes in with the patron. The man that walks in behind him Martin recognises, with a sinking in his stomach, as Elias' husband and supposedly soon to be ex-husband. His eyes widen and he sinks in on himself, hoping to hide behind the computer. "Now these are the archival staff, who take statements from the public and file them all." Elias drones out, sounding very unenthused and struggling to even be classed as polite.

With a glint in his eye, the man puts what looks to be a very fake grin on his face. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Peter Lukas and your lovely boss here has been showing me around!" He exclaims, putting an arm down heavily on Elias's shoulder. He glances round at the group but barely makes any eye contact and doesn't make any sign that he recognises Martin. Elias looks distastefully at the arm on his shoulder and ducks out of his grasp. As he dusts off his suit jacket, Peter looks over at him with a glint in his eye. "Have you ever made a statement?" He says, a teasing smirk on his lips. 

A look of distaste crosses Elias' face. "No." He states primmly. 

"But what about that time you thought you were possessed?" Peter asks. Martin and Tim share a shocked look and try and hold back the giggles as they watch. 

A flustered expression briefly plasters on Elias' face, before being replaced by the bored mask. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that time." He says, only a hint of anger in his voice. 

Smiling viciously, Peter makes a show of rubbing his thumb across his empty left ring finger. He hums. "Yes, well we agreed on a lot of things, didn't we?" He says, giving him a pointed look. Tim's eyes go wide at this and turns to Martin. 'is he?' he mouths nodding towards Peter in question. Martin gives him a ruthful smile and nods. Tim's eyes harden and he glares at the side of Peter's head. 

There's a heavy silence for a minute while they stare each other down, both assessing the other for weaknesses. Elias takes a deep breath and sighs. "I suppose we could discuss this further in my office?" He offers, looking resigned. 

Looking like the cat that got the cream, Peter grins. "Of course." He says graciously and moves to hold the door open for him. Elias barely conceals his glare at the gesture and gives him a tight smile as he primly walks out of the archive offices. Peter turns to leave and almost startles when he notices Tim and Martin watching him, having clearly forgotten they were there. He quickly retreats out of the door and follows Elias along to his office. 

As soon as the door clicks shut, Sasha hurries out of her office with a shocked expression on her face. "What the actual fuck was that!" She exclaims, hurrying over to Tim and Martin's desks. 

Staring back at her, Martin's eyes widen and he glances nervously over at the door. He meets Tim's eyes and then Tim bursts out into laughter. "They have weird flirting methods apparently." Martin comments, which doesn't help to ease Tim's laughter. 

She blinks at him in confusion. "THAT WAS FLIRTING?" She exclaims in shock. 

Martin gives it some thought. "I think so? I suppose they could be passive aggressively trying to win the break-up?" He contemplates. 

"Wait… wait… THAT was his husband?" She asks, staring at them in shock. When they both nod in unison she leans against Tim's desk and takes a sip of his coffee that had been on his desk going cold. Her face contorts in disgust. "Breakroom?" She asks hopefully.

Looking sadly at his stolen coffee, Tim sighs and heaves himself up onto his feet. Sasha and Martin share a confused look as Tim walks across the room without saying anything. "I presume that's a yes?" Martin comments with an amused grin. Sasha rolls her eyes affectionately and follows Tim into the break room, holding the door open for Martin. 

Walking into the break room they see Tim has collapsed onto a chair and has his head in his hands again. Martin chuckles and clicks the kettle on. Sasha sits down next to Tim. "So… did Elias' husband really say that Elias used to think he was possessed?" She asks, sounding completely lost. Tim snorts and starts laughing. 

From the counter, Martin giggles. "Maybe he was on drugs." He jokes and they all burst into giggles. The kettle boils and Martin attempts to hold the giggles in enough to make the drinks. He carries them over to the table and places them in front of Sasha and Tim. 

"Stoner boy Elias!" Tim exclaims, giggling manically. Sasha snorts and looks fondly at Tim. "But I can say with certainty, that they thoroughly deserve each other." He says with a grin and raises his mug up as a toast. Sasha and Martin raise their mugs and clink them together. 

Wrapping his hands around the mug, Martin gives Tim a teasing smirk. "What about you and Tim? How's that going?" He asks and notices the slight flush on his cheeks. 

A confident expression quickly covers up the soft embarrassment. Tim winks at Martin. "Amazing, like…" he says and then chefs kisses with a look of ecstasy on his face. Martin laughs and rolls his eyes at him. "We're going out for dinner on Saturday." He adds, giving Martin a suggestive look. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Martin sees the smile on Sasha's lips drop. "...our movie night is on Saturday?" She says softly. An alarmed expression spreads across Tim's face and he swears under his breath. 

Putting his hands together in prayer, Tim pouts at Sasha. "I'm so sorry! Please can we reschedule to next weekend?" He pleads. Martin looks worriedly from one to the other, watching as the unimpressed look fades into a sad acceptance. She nods reluctantly and Tim leaps up with a grin. "Thank you!" He exclaims wrapping his arms around Sasha's shoulders and kisses her cheek. 

Scrunching her face up in mock disgust, she giggles. "Get off before I change my mind." Sasha murmurs. Tim skips back to his seat and blows her a kiss from across the table. "What about Jon?" She asks, resolutely turning away from Tim and facing Martin. He flushes and mutters under his breath. 

Taking a sip of his drink Tim intently watches Martin's expression. "Because it certainly looked like Georgie and Melanie were together." He says with a smirk. Martin huffs and hides his face in his arms. 

Brightening up, Sasha pats the table excitedly. "Yes! Jon is single!" She exclaims. 

Letting out a quiet squeal, Martin peaks out from between his fingers. "But if that's true…" he says, losing his embarrassment to stare at them intently to suss out any lies. "...then that would mean I have to flirt!" He explains, sounding horrified at the thought. Sasha and Tim both laugh at him. 

Sipping her tea in thought, Sasha contemplates Martin's next move. "Ooh, you should ask them out to lunch one day this week!" She exclaims in excitement. Martin's eyes widen and he looks at her in horror. Tim smirks and quickly nods in agreement. 

The two of them share a conspiritory look before turning in unison to look at Martin. "Text them! Text them! Text them!" They both chant until Martin gives in and takes his phone out. 

**Jon**

Hey, how's all the recording been going today?

***

Hi! Sorry only just finished recording this chunk of audio. 

Christ that's a lot of recording

With the show on Saturday I've got to get a lot done so we don't fall behind schedule

Please tell me you've at least had lunch?

No… I had a packet of monster munch earlier? 

That's not lunch!

It's more than I had yesterday 

That's even worse!!!

Oh

Please have something to eat before you start working again

I suppose I could have a piece of toast while I make a cup of tea

Thank you

How's your work been today?

Weird, found out my boss apparently used to think he was possessed?

Interesting.

Drugs or paranoia? 

Not a clue

Tim thinks drugs

Ha!

It's always one or the other 

How on earth did you date someone who believes in the supernatural? 

...we agreed to keep our disagreements on that topic to within the podcast 

See that sounds very mature

You sound surprised 

I guess I just haven't had very many good role model relationships

Oh

Parents? 

Dad left when I was young

I'm sorry, that must have been difficult

It was

Your parents?

They died when I was a kid

Oh I'm so sorry!

It's fine, it was a long time ago

Sometimes you've got to find your own family

I like that idea

Anyway, my tea's gone so back to work for me

And you've eaten?

Yes Martin. 

Good! 

Do you maybe want to get lunch together one of the days? 

Would it stop you fussing about my health? 

For a bit, yes

Okay then

I'll look at my schedule and let you know

Okay! 

Great!

Talk to you later Martin

See ya!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The relationships are all developing!! It's very exciting for me to see all your reactions!


	14. Late Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got some holiday this week so I'm hoping to get writing as much as I can! But I have already planned out the ENTIRE fic so yay! Although it is like 30 chapters so I am going to be here for a WHILE...

Swiping the jewels to the right, the line of matching jewels disappears, more falling in to replace them. Martin is close to beating the level when a text pops up on his screen and he drops the phone onto his desk with a surprised yelp. Tim startles in his seat and gives him a confused look. "You okay there bud?" Tim asks, raising an eyebrow at him. 

Panicked eyes flit from his phone on the desk to Tim. Picking the phone he opens the message and stares at it in shock. "Jon's asked me out to lunch." He states. 

Wolf whistling from his desk, Tim smirks at him. "Are you actually going on a date with Jon?" He teases, leaning back in his chair and watching Martin intently. 

Mouth hanging open, Martin flushes. "I don't know!" He exclaims in a panic. Tim rolls his eyes at him and sniggers. Martin puts his middle finger up at him and opens his phone back up, ignoring Tim's laughter in the background. 

**Jon**

Hey. Just finished a chunk of editing and can't start the next lot till I talk it through with Georgie and Melanie this afternoon. Are you free to go out for lunch?

Hey! What now?

Yes? I understand if you're busy

No no it's fine! Erm yes I can. I haven't taken my lunch break yet

Working hard?

Mmmmm

Not slacking on the job are we?

No! Just a quiet day

Uh huh 

Oh shush! You're not my boss!

Good job!

Anyway! Lunch! 

Nice distraction. 

But sure, I'll meet you outside and we can go to the cafe round the corner?

Sure! 

A hand drops onto his shoulder and he leaps out of his skin with a yelp. "Chill! Martin!" Tim exclaims, clutching his own heart from Martin's yelp. 

Spinning in his chair, Martin whacks Tim in the chest and glares at him. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" He exclaims.

Sniggering, Tim leans over Martin's shoulder and tries to read the messages. "Not my fault you were too engrossed in your phone to notice me!" He teases. Martin quickly moves a hand over the screen to cover it and reaches to turn the screen off. Tim rolls his eyes and saunters back over to his desk. "Well go one then! Go meet your date." He teases, making a dismissive hand gesture. All flustered, Martin darts out of his seat and grabs his stuff. He knocks over a couple of files in his haste to leave, and awkwardly crouches down to pick them up. Tim chuckles and Martin puts his middle finger up at him as he walks out the room. 

He climbs the stairs to reception and smiles at Rosie as he passes. She waves to him in greeting as she chats to someone on the phone. He looks towards the door and then freezes. Jon is standing just outside the institute on their phone. Through the glass windows he can see Jon is wearing black chinos and what looks like a very soft, woollen red jumper. Staring at them a soft smile spreads on his face and his stomach fills with butterflies. Martin takes a deep breath and tries to push his feelings down a bit, reminding himself that just because he knows Jon is single, it doesn't mean this is a date.

As he opens the door, Jon looks up from their phone and smiles at him. "Hey!" They say, slipping their phone into their back pocket. Martin hovers for a minute unsure of what to do. "Ready to go?" Jon asks, giving him an odd look. Martin shakes himself out of his stupor.

Smiling reassuringly, Martin nods. "Yea. Let's go?" He says, gesturing in the direction of the cafe. Jon looks relieved and they walk along the pavement, side by side. Martin stares at the pavement in front of his feet as they walk, trying to think of how to start a conversation. Glancing at Jon he sees they have their hands in their pockets and looks pretty comfortable, so Martin tries to untense his shoulders. 

When they reach the cafe, Jon grabs the door and holds it open for Martin. He smiles in thanks and hurries inside. They order at the counter and settle down on a table in the corner while they wait for their food. "So no interesting spooky tales today?" Jon asks. 

Grimacing, Martin shakes his head. "Just some drunk guy who offered a cigarette to a 'thing' in a dark alleyway and wants us to investigate!" He tells them. 

Scrunching their face up in disappointment, Jon sighs. "Good lord." They mutter. Martin gives him a look of agreement and smiles. 

The waitress comes over, saying hello and putting their drinks and food down. Martin thanks her, while Jon avoids making eye contact with her. "So are you vegetarian then?" Martin asks, looking at Jon's all-day breakfast. Jon glances up at him from the food and nods. "How long?" He asks. 

Pondering the question, Jon takes a sip of their drink. "Few years now. My grandmother brought me up on halal meat so I've never had pork anyway, and then when I moved in with Georgie, she was vegetarian so it was simpler." Jon explains, before tucking into the food on their plate. 

Nodding along, Martin stores this information away for future reference. "Oh are you Muslim then?" He asks. 

Jon shrugs and gives him a look of confusion. "Non-practising." They say. Martin gives him a look that shows that he doesn't really understand what that means. Jon shakes their head in amusement. "I'm not sure I believe in Allah, but my father was Muslim and I do follow some practises of Islam." Jon explains, tucking a loose strand of hair behind their ear. Martin's face lights up in understanding and nods. "Are you religious at all?" Jon asks him. 

Martin shakes his head. "Went to church as a kid but that stopped when my dad left, so no." He explains, lowering his eyes to the plate of food in front of him. Jon hums in acknowledgment. Pulling their phone out of their pocket, Jon taps on the screen a few times and then turns the screen around to show Martin a picture of the Admiral sat on a stool with a bright halo of light cast on his fur. He coos and stares at the image with heart eyes. 

Smiling in pride, Jon pulls the phone back and tucks it into their pocket. "He kept trying to climb on my lap while I was editing this morning." They tell him, smiling softly down at the table. Martin lets out an awww and tries to control his grin. 

The butterflies in his stomach flutter as he takes in the soft expression on Jon's face as they tell him about the Admiral's antics. "Adorable." Martin murmurs, staring dreamily at them. His face flushes embarrassingly red when he realises what he said, but thankfully Jon is oblivious to his admission and just continues telling their story. 

They eat and chat for a while until Jon's phone vibrates a few times in a row in their pocket. With an apologetic look at Martin, they pull it out and read the messages. Shaking their head and rolling their eyes in amusement, Jon types out a message and then shoves it back into their pocket. "Daisy wants to say hi and she wants updates on your jumper?" Jon tells him, an amused quirk in their eyebrows. 

Excitement fills Martin's face and he lights up. "I'll send her pictures tonight." He says in amusement. Jon huffs and rolls their eyes. "Her blanket looks so good! It must have taken her so long to knit it!" Martin rambles and Jon feels a surge of pride for their friend. Feeling their phone vibrate again, they decide to ignore it rather than interrupt Martin. 

Looking up, Martin flushes at the soft look on Jon's face and his voice stutters to a halt. "So do I get to see pictures of your knitting or is that just for Daisy?" Jon teases, leaning forward on the table. Martin pulls out his phone and flicks through till he finds the right pictures. Turning the phone so Jon can see, Martin cautiously watches their expression. Studying the image of the half made jumper, Jon is quiet and Martin holds his breath. "That's very nice Martin." Jon says softly. 

Averting his eyes, Martin pulls the phone back with a soft look on his face. "Thanks." He says, taking a sip of his drink. 

"It's pretty wool." 

"It is! I got a bundle of it reduced and thought it would be perfect for this pattern." 

"You're right. I think it'll really suit you." 

"Oh… er… thank you…" Martin stutters out, ducking his head to hide his face from Jon's eyes. Pulling his sleeves down over his hands nervously, he bites his lip in thought. "I could er… make you something if there's some left?" Martin cautiously asks. 

The beginnings of a smile creep onto his face, but is quickly hidden behind a mask of politeness. "Ooh I don't want to inconvenience you." They state and Martin's face falls slightly, regretting having asked. "...but it does look soft." Jon adds, a longing look in their eyes. 

Blinking in surprise, Martin grins. "Ooh it's no trouble!" He exclaims, watching as Jon looks hopefully back at him. "I'll let you know when the jumper's done and I can figure out what I can make you!" He says enthusiastically, already plotting out ideas for what he could knit Jon that they would like. 

Smiling openly back at him, Jon chuckles. "Okay then." Jon says softly. They only break eye contact when Jon's phone starts loudly playing 'This is Halloween'. Awkwardly they quickly rummage in their pocket for it and swipe to accept. 

_"What do you want?"_

_"Ooh someone's touchy. Just wanted to tell you were back and ready to get going whenever you are."_

_"What?"_

_"Recording? You know, work?"_

_"Oh yeah… aren't you early?"_

_"No…"_

_"Good lord is it really that time already?"_

_"Having fun are you?"_

_"Shut up. I'll be back soon."_

_"Okay gotta give us all the goss."_

_"No."_

_"Grump."_

_"Love you too."_

_"Whatever, see you soon idiot."_

_"Bye."_

Hanging up the phone Jon looks panicked at Martin, just to see him rolling his eyes good naturedly. "Duty calls?" He asks, with a smile. 

Nodding, Jon starts to gather up their stuff. "Yeah sorry, didn't realise we'd been chatting for so long." They say distractedly.

Pulling out his own phone, Martin checks the time. "Oh christ! My lunch break is over too!" He exclaims, throwing his stuff in his bag. He stands up quickly, making the chair creak as it is pushed across the floor. 

Together they hurry towards the door, Martin waving a hand in thanks at the staff behind the counter. "Alright well have a good day." Jon says as they're about to turn away to go different directions. 

Martin nods enthusiastically and pauses in his fever to look at Jon. The urge to kiss them goodbye surges through them and they shove it deep down when Jon just waves and starts walking away. Taking a deep breath to recover from his disappointment, the panic of being late quickly overpowers it. Martin hurries back to work hoping no one will notice the added time. While he can hope, in reality he knows Tim will corner him as soon as he gets in to ask a million questions about his lunch, which was definitely not a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely required feeling but they are both idiots <3 let me know what you think! x


	15. Ghostly Houses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to another episode of... What the Ghost!

Sitting around the tables in their recording room, the three of them make the final adjustments to their equipment and read through some of the notes as a reminder. Settling into her chair and leaning back, Georgie grins. "We all ready to go then?" She asks them. 

Checking their phone one last time, Jon switches it on silent and pushes it into his back pocket. "Yep." They say, switching the microphones on and setting the laptop to record. 

Melanie leans forward. "Not gotta text your boyfriend again?" She teases, making Georgie giggle. 

Stuttering out denials, Jon looks over at Melanie in betrayal. "He's not my boyfriend as you well know!" Jon hisses at her. 

Laughing at their denials, Melanie just smirks at them. Georgie raises her eyebrow at Jon. "You're saying that wasn't a date you were just on?" She teases. 

Eyes widening, Jon splutters back at her. "Oh be quiet! We've got work to do!" They exclaim. The girls both laugh at them and Georgie sticks her tongue out at them. 

With a final wink in Jon's direction, Georgie claps, synchronising the audio on the microphones. 

[Georgie] "Welcome to another spooktacular episode of What the Ghost!" 

[Melanie] "Today we've got a juicy tale for you all. A haunted house!" 

[Jon] "Supposedly haunted."

[Melanie] "Wow you already don't believe!"

[Jon] "I researched it…"

[Georgie] "Exactly! Even you've got to admit this has a lot of witnesses over the years!" 

[Jon] "Local gossip and hallucinations."

[Melanie] "You're ridiculous."

[Georgie] "Well the audience can make their own mind up! So our haunted house is situated on Hilltop road, in the Oxford area."

[Melanie] "and it has its grisly moments." 

[Georgie] "It sure does! And a good old exorcism for those of you that like the classic ghost stories!"

[Melanie] "But for our younger viewers please make sure you're checking the trigger warnings in the description."

[Georgie] "A very good point. And now to set our scene; this house was a children's home back in the 1960's."

[Melanie] "The children there were apparently well behaved and kept to themselves a lot, and there are very few records available to us about this period."

[Georgie] "Children are pretty spooky without intervention, so there must have been some weird energies in the house from them."

[Melanie] "Young girls are your classic demon possession."

[Jon] "Children are just weird, it's not supernatural." 

[Georgie] "You certainly were."

[Jon] "I'm not going to argue with you there."

[Melanie] "How many times were you cautioned by the police?"

*Sounds of quiet muttering as Jon tries to remember and count on their fingers*

[Jon] "That's irrelevant to this!" 

[Melanie] "What? Don't want your boyfriend to know about your shady past?" 

[Jon] "He's not my boyfriend and I am cutting this when I edit."

*Jon claps to sync the audio again when they edit it* 

[Georgie] "The guy running the place, Raymond Fielding, was found dead in 1974 in mysterious circumstances." 

[Melanie] "Death number one."

[Georgie] "He was found several years after his disappearance after the house burned down."

[Melanie] "not only that, but his body was missing his right hand." 

[Georgie] "so foul play was definitely involved."

[Melanie] "one of the main suspects we could identify was a Miss Agnes Montague." 

[Georgie] "She was one of the children staying at the house from the age of eleven, she stayed for seven or eight years before Raymond disappeared." 

[Melanie] "When police investigated they found the house had been signed over to Agnes and found no evidence of foul play."

[Jon] "So clearly the police are idiots."

[Georgie] "Or there was nothing to find at the time?" 

[Melanie] "Both are not contradictory statements." 

[Jon] "Fuck the police!"

[Melanie] "Yeah!"

[Georgie] "Alright, calm down you two." 

*Sounds of Melanie sticking her tongue out at Georgie and her resulting giggles* 

[Georgie] "So the mysterious disappearances of local pets, adds hints of spooky goings on in the house"

[Melanie] "Not the pets!"

[Jon] "Actually nearly all violent criminals start out with animal abuse, so not all that spooky." 

[Georgie] "Well that's depressing."

[Melanie] "Back to the ghosts people!"

[Georgie] "Right sorry, so our tale is not as simple as one guy getting murdered and his house burning down, oh no." 

[Melanie] "Until 2005 the plot of land remains empty due to disputes over ownership. Finally though, they begin construction on a new house."

[Georgie] "One of the builders on the site, Ivo Lensik, reported that he was working late one day and heard someone at the door."

[Melanie] "Was it the god squad? Because we cannot get rid of them no matter what we do."

[Jon] "I like to pretend I don't speak English." 

[Georgie] "I would tell you off but we don't support missionaries in this house so whatever. But to answer your question, no it was not them." 

[Melanie] "Lucky him."

[Georgie] "Instead, it was a man claiming to be Raymond Fielding and the owner of the house."

[Melanie] "Ghost! Ghost! Ghost!" 

[Georgie] "Interestingly, considering how Raymond's body was found, the builder recalls smelling burning hair at the time."

[Jon] "Can I add that the man himself later believed this was the onset of bipolar, as this was prevalent in his family."

[Georgie] "And he got tested! And they found no other signs of it!"

[Melanie] "What happened with the ghost though?!"

[Georgie] "Burned up." 

[Melanie] "Poor ghost."

[Jon] "Supposedly. He did slip and hit his head that day." 

[Melanie] "Ooh head injuries are never good." 

[Georgie] "But! At the hospital he did meet a nurse who knew of the house."

[Melanie] "Ooh they been gossiping about the house." 

[Georgie] "They certainly have. She sent a priest around to perform an exorcism." 

[Jon] "Yes… a very reputable priest."

[Georgie] "Shush! Spoilers darling!" 

[Melanie] "Everyone will be dying to know more about this guy now." 

[Georgie] "Well give me chance! This priest began the exorcism in the kitchen looking out at the old tree in the garden."

[Melanie] "Is it an old wise tree? Or an old creepy tree?" 

[Jon] *in disbelief* "What does that even mean?"

[Georgie] "Oh definitely old and creepy."

[Melanie] "Makes sense, I was getting that vibe." 

[Georgie] "The priest reports feeling an overwhelming burning sensation and says "I am not for you, I am marked" but has no idea what made him do that."

[Melanie] "Ghost possession!"

[Georgie] "At the same time, out in the garden, Mr Lensik felt an intense hatred for this tree." 

[Melanie] "So he does the first sensible thing in the whole tale and starts chopping it down."

[Jon] "How is your idea of sensible going for a tree with an axe?" 

[Melanie] "Spooky tree? No problem! Cut it down!"

[Georgie] "Spookily the tree supposedly starting bleeding." 

[Melanie] "See clearly not right."

[Jon] "Maybe it was just sap?" 

[Melanie] "Blood Jon! Not sap!" 

[Georgie] "Buried underneath was a box, which he opens to find an apple." 

[Melanie] "Don't eat random spooky apples people."

[Georgie] "The apple then rots before his eyes and bursts into spiders."

[Jon] "Clearly hallucinations."

[Melanie] "So obviously he smashes the creepy box and throws it away." 

[Georgie] "Slightly oddly the bloke continues to work there for another week after this incident."

[Melanie] "Idiot." 

[Georgie] "Now before we go more into the life of the priest, it's important to mention that Agnes Montague, the suspect in Raymond Fielding's death died on that day."

[Melanie] "Death number two!"

[Georgie] "Most bizarrely, she was found with a severed human hand tied to her waist." 

[Melanie] "Gross accessory." 

[Jon] "Further evidence that she is just a disturbed murderer." 

[Georgie] "Ooh so it's just a coincidence that she died on the same day as the exorcism and the tree got pulled down?" 

[Jon] "Yes? Sometimes people die and you can find weird connections." 

[Melanie] "Oh don't bother trying to convince Jon, or we'll be here all day!"

[Georgie] "Fine! I'll tell you all about the priest instead."

[Melanie] "Finally." 

[Georgie] "Right so, after a woman he was performing an exorcism on died, he began to drink in excess." 

[Jon] "So first of all we have that he is an alcoholic."

[Georgie] "A few years later in 2009, he was arrested for the murder and cannabalism of two students."

[Melanie] "Death number three and four."

[Jon] "So a very honourable witness." 

[Georgie] "He was then institutionalised and had difficulty telling reality from fiction. He also stated being unable to say the words 'lord' or 'jesus' and says he cannot pray anymore."

[Jon] "and mentally unstable to complete the trio." 

[Melanie] "Damn and we thought Agnes was the psycho of this tale." 

[Georgie] "In his statement, he claims to have no recollection of these crimes." 

[Melanie] "Maybe he was sleepwalking!" 

[Jon] "and accidentally killed and cannibalised two students?"

[Melanie] "Well okay when you put it like that."

[Georgie] "Or… he was possessed? And actually didn't know what he was doing?"

[Jon] "People lie Georgie, especially murderers."

[Georgie] "Well that concludes our spooky tale for today, what are your thoughts my fellow ghost hunters?"

[Jon] "oh god am I a ghost hunter?"

[Melanie] "Good ghost! I mean, if the guy didn't even realise he was seeing a dead guy until he looked into the history, then that is a good sighting!" 

[Jon] "Or someone playing a prank on the guy?"

[Georgie] "Booo!"

[Melanie] "I was also not expecting a cannibalistic priest to be involved in this tale, so that was a spooky twist."

[Georgie] "Personally I find the link between the creepy tree and Agnes Montague to be fascinating!"

[Melanie] "That is weird." 

[Georgie] "Right! So thank you all for listening to our spooktacular tale! Let us know in the comments about your theories!"

[Melanie] "and the murder of Raymond Fielding will remain… unsolved."

[Georgie] "Melanie!"

*Splutters of laughter from Melanie are heard* 

[Jon] "What's so funny?" 

[Georgie] "She's referencing BuzzFeed Unsolved." 

[Melanie] "They're good for background research!"

[Jon] "You two are ridiculous."

[Georgie] "Thanks." 

*Sound of Georgie blowing a kiss to Jon* 

[Melanie] "and folks. If you see a ghost, for god's sake don't keep working there!" 

[Georgie] "Plus a big thank you to The Magnus Archives for the information."

[Melanie] "Not that you were meant to be be researching that specific case!"

[Jon] "They left me unsupervised!"

[Georgie] "and you wanted to see a certain someone more…" 

[Jon] "oh stop!"

[Georgie] "It's sweet!" 

[Melanie] "See you all next week!"

[Georgie] "Remember to subscribe to support us here at What the Ghost! Bye!"

The moment of silence holds for a minute, before the three of them meet eyes and nod. Jon goes around and stops the recording, making sure it's completely saved and backed up before turning off the microphones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll be glad to know I had a productive writing week! Feel free to chat to me in the comments or on tumblr (@team-waffles). Otherwise I'll see you all again next week!


	16. Gossiping Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I can't believe we're over half way through now and that you guys are all still here reading it? So to everyone that's read my story, liked or commented, you are incredible!

Scrolling through her feed on her phone, Sasha likes a few pictures of her friends dogs, selfies and newborn babies. "Can you believe Sarah in research has a kid now?" She comments, gesturing her phone towards Martin. 

Gasping in surprise, he looks over and coos at the baby on the screen. "I thought she wasn't due for another few weeks?" He asks. 

Tapping on the caption to read more, Sasha hums in agreement. "Ah, yea she was early." She comments. 

Turning back to the TV, Martin nods. "I'll have to send her some flowers." He says, mostly to himself. Sasha continues to scroll through the phone. Martin chuckles as one of the bake off contestants ends up with a face full of flour. They sit together quietly for a few minutes, before Sasha huffs angrily and glares down at her phone. Looking over at her in confusion, Martin questioningly meets her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asks sympathetically. 

Looking over at him with a panicked look on her face, Sasha avoids his eyes. "Nothing." She lies, quickly turning her phone off. Martin gives a disbelieving look and nudges her arm encouragingly. She rolls her eyes fondly and sighs. Opening her phone again, she reluctantly shows it to Martin. 

_*Image of Tim and Gunpowder Tim clinking cocktails in a fancy bar, both with wide grins on their faces*_

**_CaptainBigTimeStoker_ ** _Tim_ _2_

_#drinks #datenight #sexonthebeach #tequilasunrise #selfie_

Pausing to take in the photo, Martin carefully decides what to say next. He looks up and meets Sasha's eyes, before she looks away in embarrassment. "You knew they were going out today?" He cautiously queries. She nods and they are both quiet for a few minutes, as Sasha tries to get her words together. 

Letting out a breath, Sasha pulls the sleeves of her knitted jumper down over her hands. "I don't like the reminder that he chose him over me." She murmurs. 

Shaking his head, Martin gives her a look. "You know that's not true. You guys have rearranged before, why is this time bothering you so much?" He asks, taking a sip from the mug of tea on the table. 

Sasha glares back down at the photo on her phone. "Yeah! But for like his brother or dentist appointments!" She exclaims, turning the phone off and crossing her arms over her chest. 

Raising his eyebrows at her, a teasing smirk starts to spread across his lips. "So you don't mind him rearranging, but you do mind him going on a date?" He says teasingly. 

Freezing, Sasha turns to face him. "That's not what I said." She says, sounding unsure now. She scrunches her face up in thought. 

With a wide grin on his face, Martin spins on the sofa and pulls his feet up under him. "I can read between the lines." He teases. 

Crossing her arms over her chest Sasha raises her eyebrow at him. "Well you're wrong." She states. 

Scoffing, Martin laughs. "So you've never even thought about it?" He asks with a smirk. Turning bright red, Sasha's eyes widen in shock. With an exclamation of delight, Martin claps his hands together and grins at her. "I knew it!" He exclaims. 

Spluttering objections and indignations Sasha covers her face with her hands. They both sit and giggle at each other. Peeking out from between her fingers, she meets Martin's eyes. "Okay so maybe!... Once or twice…" she admits. This admission only makes them giggle more. "Oh come on, like you haven't!" She exclaims. 

Freezing, Martin pauses, looking panicked at Sasha. They silently stare at each other for a minute and then they both errupt into cackles. "If we're going to talk about this I need wine!" Martin states. 

Sasha cheers. "Yes! Now that I can agree with!" She exclaims. Martin laughs and rolls himself off the sofa and hurries into the kitchen to grab a bottle and two wine glasses. He's back in a few minutes, waving the bottle triumphantly. Sacha laughs and makes grabby hands at the bottle. Rolling his eyes at her, Martin pours out two glasses for them and leaves the bottle on his coffee table. She takes a sip of the wine and then looks over at Martin and raises her eyebrows suggestively at him with a smirk. 

Spluttering with laughter, Martin holds a hand over his mouth to stop him from spitting wine everywhere. "Stop!" He exclaims between giggles. "You're not supposed to be interrogating me!" 

Winking at him makes Martin pull a scared expression and Sasha loses it and bursts out laughing. "Well we could talk more about you and Jon?" She smirks, nudging him with her elbow. 

Groaning, Martin hides his face in his arms. "Why?" He whines, looking up at her with big sad eyes. She gives him a look and he bites his lip. "There's nothing to tell I swear!" He tells her. 

Gasping in betrayal, Sasha clutches her chest and takes another sip of wine. "Oh come on! We all know you've been texting all week!" She exclaims. Martin flushes in embarrassment and feels butterflies in his stomach as he thinks about Jon. "You went on a freaking date with them!" She teases. 

Shaking his head, Martin giggles. "I don't think it was a date!" He tells her and she looks at him like he's being ridiculous. "It was just lunch?" He says, doubt filling his voice. 

Rolling her eyes at him, Sasha chuckles. "You two are ridiculous." She mutters, shaking her head at him. "Okay show me what they said." She says, holding her hand out for his phone. Martin looks back at her with wide eyes and a fearful expression. She narrows her eyes at him and Martin relents opening the phone up and clicking on the chat. Sasha goes to take it but Martin pulls it out of her reach and shakes his head distractedly, while he scrolls back through the messages. She waits, getting more and more amused as Martin keeps scrolling. 

When he reaches the right conversation, he pauses and looks at Sasha intently. Reluctantly he hands the phone over and bites his lip nervously as she reads it. "They are totally flirting!" She exclaims, giggling as she drinks more of her wine. She goes to scroll further down the messages but Martin quickly grabs the phone back from her. 

Downing the last drop of wine in his glass, Martin flushes at her words. Pouring himself another glass of wine, he offers the bottle to Sasha, who gladly accepts the refill. "Even if that was true…" he begins, pointedly staring at Sasha when she squeals excitedly. "IF! Then we still both need to be aware that it was a date. Hence it wasn't a date." He explains, gesturing a touch enthusiastically and almost spilling wine on Sasha. 

Blinking in confusion, Sasha stares at him for a minute while she tries to understand his nonsense. "Okay, fine! Ask them on a date then." She says smugly. Martin freezes and flushes bright red. 

He stutters out panicked fragments, while Sasha watches looking very pleased with herself. Martin covers his mouth with his hands and lets out a whine. "What would I even say?" He murmurs. 

Taking a sip of her drink, she ponders the question for a minute. She then pulls a face at him. "Go on a date with me to dinner? Perhaps?" She teases. 

Downing a big gulp of wine, Martin flushes bright red, his eyes wide and nervous. Glancing back at her he startles at her intense look. "Now?" He squeaks. He runs his hand through his hair and bites his lip. Sasha leaps up and down in her seat excitedly. "Yes now!" She exclaims, grinning over at Martin. He opens the phone up and stares at the blinking curser. 

**Jon**

Hey! So I had a lovely time with you, so I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner with me? 

Dinner with you would be lovely Martin. 

Great! How about Saturday night? 

Give me two secs to check the calender

No problem! 

"Aaah!" Martin says in a panic, basically vibrating with nervous energy. Sasha grabs his arm and tilts the phone towards herself. She's quiet for a second while she reads the messages and then squeals with him. A hand clamped over her mouth as she excitedly grins at him. Martin lets out a giggle of happiness as a notification pops up on the screen. 

**Jon**

Saturday works for me. Half 6? 

Great! Looking forward to it! 

Me too. 

How're you doing today?

Alright, tired though. 

Got thoroughly engrossed in the history of this old, abandoned hospital. 

Ooh any ghosts? 

There are 'sightings' but nothing concrete. 

sPoOkY 

...no

How was your day? 

Good! Some of us rest on weekends :P

Don't worry, we're having a relaxing day tomorrow 

Nice! Enjoy it! 

Thank you. 

*Picture of the Admiral sat in front of Jon with a paw on their leg*

Sorry, cat wants his dinner.

Talk later x 

Awww! 

Bye x

Biting his lip to try and hold the grin in, Martin turns to Sasha, an excited glint in his eyes. "I've got a date!" He says, tapping Sasha's shoulder repeatedly in excitement. 

She grins back at him. "Yes! Go Martin!" She cheers. Martin smiles softly down at his phone. "And now we get drunk." She adds, reaching out to grab the bottle of wine. She fills both their glasses and holds hers out to clink. Looking knowingly at her, Martin smiles and clinks the glass as Sasha takes a selfie of the two of them. 

_*Selfie of the two of them grinning at the camera, wine glasses clinking together*_

**_JimJam.aka.Sasha_ ** _Spilling the tea, but making it alcoholic!_

_#notPGrated #winebros #gossiping #bff_

Opening up his phone as the notification pops up on his phone that he was tagged in a picture. He opens it up and likes it, raising his eyebrow at her. "What?" She asks, sounding aggressively innocent. 

Rolling his eyes at her, Martin chuckles. "So your not trying to get back at Tim?" He asks in amusement. Narrowing her eyes at him, she shakes her head at him. "So how serious are you about him?" Martin asks softly. 

She opens her mouth to deny it but then looks and Martin's open expression and sighs. "I really like him." She whispers softly. Martin pulls her into a tight hug and she sinks into his embrace. 

He strokes her back and holds on tightly to her. "We'll figure it out." He says softly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I'm having a lot of fun writing now that certain relationships are developing more <3 and your comments all make my day!


	17. Ghostly masks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain is not working today, I nearly uploaded chapter 17 of one of my different stories here! Which would have certainly confused you all :D

Soft music trickles through the house and Georgie sways her hips as she chops up slices of cucumber. Rufus sits at her feet begging for snacks, unlike the cat who ran away as soon as the cucumber had come out. She sneaks him a few slices and he gobbles them up, still begging for more. "Are you feeding the needy pup?" Melanie asks as she walks into the kitchen with a teasing grin on her face. 

Quickly pulling the cucumber away from Rufus. "No!" She lies. She slowly leans down and gives Rufus the final slice of cucumber. 

Kneeling down on the floor, Melanie calls Rufus over. He happily trotts over and starts licking her face. "Has she been feeding you snacks?" She asks him, in her baby voice. "She has! Oh no!" She answers herself and gasps. Georgie giggles from the kitchen counter. She collects the cucumber slices and puts them in a bowl and wipes the counter down. 

A door slams upstairs and steps are heard on the stairs. "GEORGIE?!" Jon calls out, head appearing around the door. She looks up at them and giggles. They are wearing a long, brown, flowy skirt to their ankles; hair loose and thrown over one shoulder; a grey, cropped hoodie; and an annoyed expression on their face. "Have you been in my wardrobe again?" They ask in frustration. 

Giving them an overly innocent expression, she grins at them. "No?" She replies in amusement. 

Huffing, Jon glares at her. "Why would you cut my hoodies up?!" They ask, gesturing madly at the cropped hoodie and the sliver of their waist that is visible. 

Melanie snorts. "Have they found our present, George?" She asks, grinning over at Georgie. 

Holding a hand over her mouth, Georgie chuckles. "Yes!" She says between laughs. Melanie snorts and laughs, while Jon looks between them looking unimpressed. "It's meant to be like that you fool!" She tells Jon. 

They scrunch their face up in confusion and look down at the edge of the fabric. "Why?" They ask in bafflement. 

"Fashion." Melanie chimes up, from her position on the floor with Rufus. Georgie grins and points at Melanie, nodding enthusiastically. 

As they fiddle with the hem of the hoodie, Jon looks thoughtfully at the offending item. "You're mad." They state, turning around to go upstairs and get changed. 

Chasing after them, Georgie laughs and grabs hold of their sleeve. "Noo!" She exclaims. Jon stops and looks at her in confusion. "It looks so good on you!" She explains, giving them the sad eyes. 

Rolling their eyes at her, they shake their head. "Whatever, fine." Jon mutters, turning and walking off into the living room. Georgie cheers and turns to face Melanie. She holds her hand up for a high five, that Georgie quickly meets. She then wraps her hand around her wrist and helps Melanie up. She grabs the bowl of cucumber and wraps her other arm around Melanie and they follow Jon into the living room, giggling all the way. 

They walk in to find Jon sat cross legged on the sofa, routing through the bag of nail varnish they keep down the side of the sofa. "What colour do you fancy?" Georgie asks them, as they plonk themselves down on the other sofa. 

Looking up from the bag, Jon gives her an undecided look. "I don't know." They say distractedly 

Chuckling, Georgie gets up off the sofa. "Alright, face masks first then." She says with a laugh. She walks over and grabs the three face mask packets from the worktop. 

Jon laughs. "Nah, it's fine. I'll do yours." They say and passes the bag over to her. She grins brightly and sits back down. After a quick rummage she pulls out a bright yellow and a bright green bottle. "Nice." Jon comments. 

Leaning her head on Georgie's shoulder, Melanie pouts. "Whatcha doing?" She asks softly. 

Turning her head, Georgie presses a kiss to Melanie's forehead. "Bright yellow, with a lime green middle finger." She explains, as Jon settles down next to her. 

Melanie laughs. "So I can have the opposite?" She asks fondly. 

"Of course!" Georgie says brightly. Jon shakes the bottles and uncaps them, but Georgie holds up a hand to get them to wait. She gets up and pulls the footstool up in front of Melanie and taps it. Melanie puts her feet up and lies back on the sofa. "Face mask now?" She asks and Melanie nods, closing her eyes. Georgie opens the packet and gently places it on her face. She then reaches over and grabs two slices of cucumber and puts them over her eyes. Melanie puts her thumbs up and hums in contentment. Georgie sits back down and holds her hand out to Jon. 

They settle down and start carefully painting her nails the bright yellow colour. Jon hums as they work, sticking their tongue out in concentration. "Hey George?" Melanie pipes up. Georgie hums in acknowledgement. "You know we're going to my parents this weekend? I talked to my Dad yesterday and we've booked that new restaurant Mom wanted to try for the Saturday evening." She tells her.

Turning to face her, Georgie smiles. "Ah her birthday treat?" She asks. Jon finishes doing one hand and reaches for the other one. She starts shaking the painted hand and blowing on the nails. 

Chuckling, Melanie hums. "Exactly. We'll just have to buy some gardening gloves and a card, then we're sorted for her birthday." She murmurs, sounding half asleep. 

Nodding, Georgie looks contemplative. "Sounds good." She says distractedly. She bites her lip in thought. "I might pick up some flowers for her, before we leave?" She says, looking to Melanie for her opinion. 

Grinning, Melanie huffs. "Suck up." She murmurs teasingly. Georgie's eyes widen playfully and whacks her arm in mock outrage. Melanie laughs and sticks her tongue out at her. 

Sitting up, Jon stretches their back out and screws the lids back on the nail varnish bottles. "All done." They say. Georgie grins down at them and spreads her fingers out to admire them. She blows a kiss at them in thanks and continues shaking them to ensure they dry quickly. 

Once they're up, Jon walks over and picks up one of the face masks and carries it over to the mirror on the wall. Carefully aligning it with their face, Jon puts it on before sinking down into the sofa with a sigh. Georgie gently taps her nails to check if they're dry. Once they meet her satisfaction she spins in the seat and holds Melanie's hand and places it on her lap. She unscrews the nail varnish again and sets to work, doing the opposite colours to her own nails. 

After doing one hand, she stretches her shoulders out and glances over at Jon. Her eyes narrow when she sees them typing on their phone. "No phones remember? We're detoxing." She says making Jon jump and look over at her guiltily. 

Locking eyes, the two of them share a look and Jon slowly places the phone on the floor. Once the phone is away, Georgie smiles in satisfaction. "What were you doing anyway? Normally you hate your phone?" Melanie teases. Jon looks panicked and a flustered look crosses their face. Georgie watches their expression and lights up when she sees this. 

Opening their mouth to explain, Jon freezes. "Come on, tell us?" Georgie says with a smirk. Reluctantly, Jon mumbles something incomprehensible. "Say that again?" She asks, looking delighted at Jon's embarrassment. 

"I was trying to find Martin on Facebook alright?!" Jon snaps and both Melanie and Georgie light up at their admission. 

Snorting, Melanie lets out a startled laugh. "You? A known technophobe, was trying to Facebook stalk a guy!" She asks in astonishment. Groaning, Jon hides their face. 

Georgie giggles. "Man, you've got it bad." She teases. Jon simply let's out another groan and puts their middle finger up in her direction. "So come on. What did you find?" She asks excitedly. 

Turning to face her, Jon glares at her. "Nothing." They mutter. Georgie scrunches up her face in confusion. "I couldn't find him." Jon murmurs in embarrassment. 

"Bless. You having a middle-aged moment?" Melanie teases. Georgie giggles at Jon's outraged expression. 

Crossing their arms in frustration, Jon glares at Melanie, not caring that she is unaware of that fact. "Well you try and find him!" They say in exasperation. 

Looking unimpressed at that suggestion, Georgie narrows her eyes at them. "Go on Georgie." Melanie says, elbowing her teasingly. Georgie rolls her eyes and sighs good naturedly. She reaches over to the coffee table and picks her phone up. 

Clicking through the apps, Georgie turns to Jon and grins. "What's his surname?" She asks. The colour drains from Jon's face and with an embarrassed expression on their face, they stare down at their feet. "You do know his last name right?" She asks in disbelief. 

Barking out a laugh, Melanie has to grab the slices of cucumber to prevent them falling off her face. "It never came up alright!" Jon exclaims. Melanie and Georgie both giggle at Jon's revelation. 

Resting her head on Georgie's shoulder, Melanie hums in thought. "Try filtering it by his work?" She suggests. Georgie nods and types away on her phone. 

Peering at the results Georgie clicks on a few profiles before sighing in disappointment. "Nothing." She mutters. Jon looks smugly at her and she rolls her eyes at them. 

Chewing her lip in thought, Melanie considers the best course of action. "Search for Tim and the Magnus Institute?" She suggests and Jon looks at her in confusion. 

Georgie types it in and clicks through one or two profiles, before cheering. "Right, mutual friends." She mutters as she clicks through his profile. Jon waits nervously as she scrolls, running the fabric of their skirt through their fingers. "Blackwood!" She excitedly exclaims. 

Mouth hanging open in shock, Jon stares at the two of them in amazement. "How?" They state. Georgie simply smirks at the phone and raises her eyebrows jokingly. Jon's eyes widen as they realise Georgie now has access to Martin's profile. They quickly snatch their phone back off the floor and type: 'Martin Blackwood' into the search bar. A quick scan of the results and Jon spots a slightly younger image of Martin smiling back at him. 

Clicking on the profile picture, they scroll through his profile, although his account is private so apart from a couple profile pictures Jon doesn't get much from it. "Have you sent him a request?" Georgie asks, smirking back at them. 

Just before Jon can shake their head, Melanie snorts. "Course not, Jon doesn't make the first move!" She jokes, making Georgie laugh. 

Crossing their arms over their chest, Jon grumbles back at her. "Well how do you feel about him?" Georgie asks, a touch of seriousness lacing through her words. 

Grinning at the flustered expression on Jon's face, Georgie can see the cogs whirring as they think. "I like him." Jon says softly. 

Beaming at them, Georgie claps her hands excitedly. "Ask him out then." She tells them. 

Letting out a smug chuckle, Jon smirks. "I think he's already asked me out actually." They tell them. Georgie and Melanie both gasp. 

"Why the fuck didn't you mention this earlier?" Melanie exclaims in disbelief. Georgie cheers in the background, leaping up and down in excitement. 

Sighing, Jon's smugness evaporates. "Look, we're going for dinner, sure. But I can't date him." They say, voice filled with frustration. 

Getting up off the sofa, Georgie walks over to Jon and wraps them in a tight hug. "You don't know that." She tells them softly. 

Scoffing, Jon pulls back. "Yes I do. Being sex-repulsed tends to be a deal breaker in relationships." They say, pulling their knees up towards their chest. 

Georgie pouts, watching Jon sadly. Leaning over she kisses the top of their head. "You'll always have us." She says fondly. A thin smile appears on their face and they meet her eyes. "Plus I don't think you should give up hope yet." She adds with a smirk, as she walks back over to Melanie. 

"Everyone has commented on how smitten he is with you!" Melanie pipes up in support. This removes the sadness from Jon's face and replaces it with a growing look of horror. 

Rolling their eyes at the two of them, Jon chuckles. "Fuck it, fine." They swear. Grabbing their phone back, they send a friend request to Martin and then turn the phone off and puts it on the coffee table. "There. Pass me the cucumber?" They ask. 

Handing the slices of cucumber over, Georgie grins widely at Jon. They lie down on the sofa and place them over their eyes, letting out a sigh of contentment. "Good job! I'll finish Mel's other hand then I'll paint yours in the ace pride colours if you want?" Georgie offers hopefully. 

She gets a thumbs up in response and sees a smile on their face. She turns back to Melanie and starts painting her other hand, as she relaxes back into the sofa as well. "If I fall asleep, please don't draw on my face like last time?" Jon asks, already sounding sleepy. 

The two of them grin widely. "Course not." They say in unison, both clearly crossing their fingers as they do. Jon huffs disbelievingly, but doesn't make any effort to keep themself more awake. The soft, relaxing music in the background luls Jon into a rare sense of peace and relaxation and they drift into sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love my ghost hunter gang <3 hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did :) Also Happy Ace week to all the lovely asexuals reading this!


	18. Gay Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tim/Tim make a return! 
> 
> *Also slightly more mature start to this chapter but fyi it does not get explicit*

The blurry edges of sleep leave Tim feeling fuzzy and contented. Sunlight is beginning to fall in strips across the bed. He relaxes and nuzzles further into the bare chest beneath him, the smell of sweat and sex filling his nose. An arm tightens around his shoulders and he grins. "Morning." GP Tim murmurs, voice low and raspy. 

Peering up through his lashes, Tim looks up at him and smiles. "Hi." He says softly. The arm around his shoulders slowly trails down his spine, the feather light touches leaving him quivering. 

Shifting his leg up from in between GP Tim's, he feels the shiver run through him and sees GP Tim bite his lip. The cocky smirk on his face is quickly lost, when he feels himself being flipped onto his back. Broad hands hold his wrists by his head as he gasps in surprise. GP Tim leans over him, mouthing at his neck. "Don't start something you can't finish." He teases, teeth grazing the sensitive skin beneath his ear. 

Smirking up at him, Tim raises his eyebrows. "Who says I won't finish it?" He teases, leaning his head back to give him more access to his neck.

Biting down, GP Tim sucks a bruise on his skin making Tim moan. Giving it a final kiss, he pulls off his neck and smirks at Tim. "I do. I have to go to work." He says, giving his lips a quick peck. 

Pouting, Tim looks up at him and narrows his eyes at him. Daring him, he raises an eyebrow at him. "How long you got?" He teases, smirking up at him. His fingers run suggestively up and down GP Tim's sides.

The phone on the side table then starts loudly informing them of the alarm, and GP Tim sighs. "Not long enough." He mutters, letting go of Tim's wrists to grab the phone and shut it off. He goes to sit up but Tim places one hand on his chin and threads the other through his long hair and pulls him down into a deep kiss. 

Pulling back slightly, they breathe each other's air as they pant, and Tim smirks. "Go on then, off to work." He teases, giving him a playful shove off the bed. 

Letting out a startled laugh, GP Tim stumbles off the bed and shakes his head at Tim. "Fucking tease." He mutters. Tim laughs and blows a kiss at him. "I'm gonna shower alright? Make yourself at home, Bertie should be around if you need anything." He says as he retreats into the ensuite. Tim flops back down onto the bed and grins to himself, pulling the quilt up to hide his flustered face. Internally he squeals and then takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He hears the click of the shower turning on and he focuses his mind on the rhythmic flow of the water. 

After a few minutes he glances around the room and reluctantly extracts himself from his cacoon. A quick search reveals his boxers, which he pulls on. Grabbing his jeans and shirt off the floor, he throws them into a pile. Knowing how tightly fitted they are, he doesn't feel like putting them on yet, so he grabs a cosy looking jumper off a chair and pulls that on instead. 

Padding out of the room, he makes his way into the kitchen for a drink. He jumps in surprise when he sees someone already in the kitchen. After the initial shock he realises this must be his roommate Bertie. "Hi?" He calls out cautiously. 

The guy turns around and smiles at him, if a little unenthusiastically. "Morning." He replies. Tim notes that Bertie is noticeably shorter than him and is wearing some plain tracksuits with an oversized hoodie hanging off his shoulders. Bertie turns towards the cupboards and grabs a glass out and fills it from the sink, handing it over to Tim. 

"Thanks." He murmurs gratefully. Tim sinks into a stool on the breakfast bar and sips the glass of water. Bertie bustles about, switching the kettle on and getting some mugs out of the cupboard. 

Opening the bread bin, Bertie puts two slices of bread in the toaster. "Do you want any?" Bertie asks, gesturing at the toaster. 

Blinking out of his stupor, Tim nods. "Ta." He murmurs. Bertie nods in acknowledgement and gets the butter out of the fridge. Tim yawns and watches Bertie as he bustles about making breakfast. He has short, curly blond hair, visible stubble on his cheeks and piercings visible along his ears and through one eyebrow. He quickly looks away when Bertie turns, handing him a piece of toast on a plate. He smiles in thanks and cautiously bites the corner, testing his stomach after last night's drinks. 

The sound of the bedroom door opening gets both of their attention and they both look over at GP Tim as he walks over. He is now dressed in plain black jeans and a shiny black shirt, his hair tied back into a loose bun. "Good morning!" He says cheerily, pressing a kiss to Tim's forehead. Bertie hands him a slice of toast and a travel mug of coffee. "You're a lifesaver you are!" He says gratefully. Sliding into the stool next to Tim, he gratefully takes a bite of his toast. He pauses and cocks his head towards Bertie in thought. "Is that my hoodie?" He asks. 

Chuckling, Bertie grins. "Nah, I told you it's mine now." He jokes. GP Tim rolls his eyes at him fondly. Leaning against the counter, Bertie raises an eyebrow at him. "Nevermind me, I think someone else has claimed a hoodie?" He teases, unsubtly glancing over at the hoodie Tim was wearing, which clearly shows the bruise on Tim's neck. GP Tim winks at Bertie with a wide smirk, while Tim flushes bright red. Bertie laughs and sips his coffee. "You gonna get takeout tonight?" Bertie asks, looking hopefully over at GP Tim. 

Wiping the toast crumbs off his shirt, GP Tim looks up at Bertie and grins. "Course." He says. He looks contemplative at Bertie for a minute and then he grins. "Chinese?" He asks. 

Pressing his hand over his heart, Bertie groans. "You read my mind." He says fondly. GP Tim does finger guns at him looking smug. 

Taking a quick sip of his coffee, GP Tim checks the time on his phone. "I gotta go." He sighs. Padding over to the door, he pulls some shoes on, then walks back over to grab his coffee. 

He sneaks up behind Tim and wraps his arms around his waist, fingers sneaking up under the hoodie. "That tickles." Tim giggles, squirming at the touch. He leans over his shoulder and kisses him. 

Grinning back at him, GP Tim continues running his fingers lightly over Tim's chest. "Text me tonight?" He murmurs. 

Spinning around on the stool, Tim reaches out and pulls his face closer and kisses him. "I will." He says fondly. 

They grin at each other and GP Tim pulls his hands out from under Tim's hoodie. "Ciao." He says, walking towards the door. Tim glances over at Bertie and sees him gripping the counter, knuckles white under the pressure. GP Tim blows a kiss towards them from the door and Tim is not entirely sure which one of them it is directed at. 

Glancing back towards Bertie he sees a flash of irritation in his eyes towards himself, but it's quickly covered up when Bertie notices Tim looking back. Finishing his glass of water, he contemplates the best way of talking to Bertie. "How did you and Tim meet then?" He asks cautiously. 

Giving him a wary look, after a few seconds Bertie smirks. "Community service." He tells Tim in amusement. Letting out a startled laugh, Tim stares at Bertie in surprise. "It's true! I swear!" He says grinning back at him. 

Leaning forward on his elbows, Tim smirks. "What did you do?" He asks in excitement. 

Smirking at him, Bertie takes a sip of his coffee and raises an eyebrow up at him, building the anticipation. Tim is practically vibrating in his seat as he waits for Bertie to spill the beans. "I was done for shoplifting," Bertie tells Tim, pausing for dramatic effect. "Tim may have started a little fire though." He says, grinning widely as he watches Tim's expression of amazement spread across his face. 

"What?!" Tim exclaims, slamming his hands down on the counter top. A gleeful expression on his face. "That has made my day!" He says. 

Laughing at Tim's amazement, Bertie pours another mug of coffee and slides it across the counter to Tim. "In his defence though, the guy had a bigotted sign out in his garden." Bertie explains, as Tim gratefully takes a sip of coffee. 

Shaking his head, Tim sighs. "Served him right then." He states. Bertie nods along in agreement. Tim shakes himself from his thoughts and smiles. "So how come you weren't at the concert? I don't remember seeing you there?" He asks.

Bertie's eyes drop to the floor. "I don't do well in loud, busy crowds." He says quietly. 

Twitching his lips in sympathy, Tim sips his coffee. "My brother's the same. Social anxiety. Hiking, parkour, urban exploration, no problem! But phone calls, bars, parties? No way." Tim tells him, chuckling quietly. 

Looking back up at Tim, Bertie smiles in relief and nods. "Exactly. Tim always sets up a video link for me though." He says with a grin. 

Softly smiling, Tim intently studies Bertie's expression. "You're close then?" He asks, noticing the slight flush on Bertie's cheeks. He nods and takes a sip of coffee to try and hide his blush. Narrowing his eyes at Bertie, he smirks. "Is there anything between you two?" He asks with a wink. "I'm open to different relationships, but I need to know if I'm stepping on any toes?" He adds, sounding a touch more serious. 

Staring at him in silence, Bertie looks frozen. He unfreezes and starts blustering out denials. Tim gives him a disbelieving look and he quiets. "We're friends, okay?" Bertie tells him, sounding resigned to that fact. Tim's expression softens and he looks at Bertie with sympathy. "Look, you seem nice and that is rare for Tim. I don't want to fuck any of that up." Bertie tells him in frustration. 

Scrunching his face up in confusion, Tim quirks his lips in amusement. "Why is that rare?" He asks. 

Bertie chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Tim has horrendous taste in men." He explains. Tim's eyes widen in surprise. 

Pouting, Tim gives Bertie the sad eyes. "I hope I'm an exception to that rule?" He asks jokingly. 

Rolling his eyes at Tim's dramatics, Bertie chuckles. "We'll see." He says ominously. Tim gasps and pretends to be heartbroken, clutching his chest. 

Under the mask of amusement, Tim notices a flicker of something in Bertie's eyes. Turning serious again, Tim chews his lip as he thinks. "It must be tough seeing him with other guys?" He says sympathetically. Bertie turns away from him and starts running the water into the bowl to wash up. Taking his answer from his body language, Tim nods thoughtfully. "Why have you never told him?" He asks softly. 

Freezing, Bertie tenses and stands there unmoving. Tim just waits knowing better than to push for an answer. Sighing, Bertie sinks in on himself in defeat. "Never been brave enough I suppose." He murmurs, so quietly Tim wouldn't have caught it if he hadn't been listening for it. 

Slumping down on the counter top, Tim sighs. "I won't say anything to him. Don't worry." He says softly. 

Heart stuttering in his chest, Bertie turns and looks at Tim. They lock eyes and Bertie sees the sincerity in Tim's eyes. "Thanks." He murmurs. With a half hearted chuckle, Bertie smirks. "At least I won't have to pretend to like you." He jokes. 

Face lighting up at the praise, Tim grins and winks at him. He chuckles. "God I remember when Sasha, my best friend, started seeing this girl. It was so hard to be positive about it! Of course she ended up taking her to Madame Tussants and being a creep, so it didn't last long." He says, remembering all the times Sasha would excitedly share every single fact about her at the time. 

Looking at him in confusion, Bertie gives him a strange look. "Is that why you didn't like her? Or did that come after?" He asks cautiously. He leans against the counter, drying his hands on the hand towel and watches Tim closely. 

Blinking in confusion at the change in tone, Tim gives him a questioning look. "I dunno, if I remember right I don't think I ever liked her." He says, wracking his brain for those memories. 

"...and her other dates?" Bertie asks, still giving Tim that strange look. 

Not seeing the relevance, Tim scrunches his eyebrows up in confusion. "She doesn't really date much?" He tells Bertie. Tim chuckles then smirks. "Probably for the best really, otherwise we'd never get our weekly movie night!" He jokes. 

Running a hand through his hair, Bertie stares at Tim in amazement, then shakes his head and laughs. "I knew there had to be something." He mutters to himself in amusement. 

"What are you talking about?" Tim asks, an edge of frustration in his voice. Bertie just shakes his head in amusement. 

Pulling a stool out from under the breakfast bar, Bertie sits down and leans his elbows on the counter. "It sure sounds like you want to be her date instead." He teases, grinning widely at him. 

Bursting out into laughter, Tim snorts. His laughter tappers out when he notices that Bertie isn't laughing and raises his eyebrow at him. Tim stares at him for a minute and then rolls his eyes. "Look, do like spending time with her? Of course! She's my best friend. Do I find her attractive? Yes, she is stunning! Am I glad that I'm her favourite person? Yes who the hell wouldn't! Do I sometimes think about kissing her? I mean yes, but I repeat, she is fucking stunning! Do I want to date her though? No." Tim rambles on, sounding particularly confident in his words and very pleased with himself. 

Staring at him in surprise, Bertie tries to wrap his head around those words but comes up blank. He bites his lip and attempts to hold the laughter inside. "...are you sure?" Bertie asks in amusement. Pulling up short, Tim stares at him in confusion. "Think about what you just said." He tells Tim, rolling his eyes at his obliviousness. 

It takes a few seconds, but Bertie sees in his expression when it finally twigs what his feelings for Sasha are. "Omg!" Tim exclaims jumping up from the stool. It clatters loudly to the floor, startling Bertie. "Christ, I'm in love with her." He murmurs in shock. 

Smiling in sympathy, Bertie stands up and pat's him on the shoulder. "I feel you." He says. He then sits back down again and finishes his coffee, seemingly oblivious to Tim's ongoing crisis. 

Pacing up and down in kitchen, Tim waves his arms around, muttering to himself. After a few minutes of his pacing and muttering, Tim pulls to a stop in front of Bertie. "I have to tell her." He says, voice laced with both excitement and fear. "And Tim… Christ I'm going to be another guy on the list of shitty exs." He adds, face falling in horror. 

Watching Tim standing there, full of adrenaline and emotions, Bertie sighs and folds his arms over his chest. "Look, figure yourself out first. Sleep on it and do what feels right then." He tells him, hoping to stop him from charging in head first. 

Nodding at him, he takes a deep breath and tries to calm his emotions down. "You're right… I've gotta do this properly." He says, mostly muttering to himself rather than at Bertie. Shoving his hands into the large pocket on his hoodie, he starts walking towards the door in a daze. "See you." Tim calls out to Bertie. 

Looking on in horror, Bertie quickly chases after him. "TIM!" he calls after him and manages to grab hold of his shoulder as he turns around. Tim gives him a quizzicle look, making Bertie roll his eyes. "Maybe put some trousers on first?" He tells him, resolutely not looking down at his bare legs. 

A look of horror fills Tim's face and he glances down at his clothes and pulls the edge of the hoodie down slightly in embarrassment. "Whoops." He chuckles. Changing his course, he makes his way back towards GP Tim's bedroom to grab his clothes. 

Hurrying back over to the kitchen, Bertie scribbles something down on a scap of paper. "Hey Tim?" He calls out. Tim spins around, leaning against the bedroom door frame. "You're an idiot, but I see why Tim likes you. Let me know how it goes okay?" He tells him, chuckling slightly as he hands his number over to Tim. He takes it with a wide grin and nods. "And don't you dare hurt him!" Bertie calls out as Tim closes the door behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be perfectly honest and say that I have not really written for a while, as my mental health has not been good. But I'm going to post this in the hopes that by doing something I can trick my brain into complying.


	19. Spooky Ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For any of you feeling rough, it will get better. I'm working on taking those little steps forward. So have a nice romantic chapter :) Hope you like it

Nervously glancing from his phone to the street, Martin shuffles from foot to foot. He tries to reassure himself that he is just early, of course Jon wouldn't be here yet. He bites his lip nervously and moves out of the way as a few guys walk into the wetherspoons. Fiddling with the edges of his knitted jumper, Martin sighs and checks his phone again. Still nothing. He puts it back in his pocket and glances down the street again. He jumps when he feels his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He quickly grabs it and pauses, screwing his eyes shut and praying Jon isn't cancelling on him. Cautiously he turns the screen on and reads the message. 

**Jon**

You don't have to come in you know. Just tell me if you've changed your mind? 

Staring at the message in confusion, Martin looks up and spins in a circle. He looks to the door, mind a whirl of confusion when he finds it empty. He hears a slight knocking and spins to find the noise. Martin spots movement through the window and grins in relief when he sees Jon leaning across a table to cautiously wave at him. Martin chuckles and shakes his head fondly. Walking into the pub, he works his way around to the table Jon is sat at. 

Seeing Jon nervously fiddling with a half empty bottle, as they look up at him with a conflicted look on their face, Martin smiles softly at them. "I was early, so I thought I'd wait outside for you." Martin chuckles nervously. A relieved look crosses Jon's face and they gesture at the seat opposite them. 

Pulling the seat out, Martin sits down opposite of Jon. They bite their lip to hold back a smile. "Turns out I was earlier." Jon says slyly. They take a sip of their drink and Martin blushes. Jon's long hair is loose and all pulled over their right shoulder and falling in waves down their front. They are wearing a white blouse with sheer sleeves, contrasting their darker skin. 

Looking away from Jon, Martin picks up the menu on the table and intently stares at it, not focusing enough to read any of the items listed. Clearing his throat, Martin glances up at Jon. "What are you going to get?" He asks nervously. 

Leaning their elbows on the table, Jon watches Martin. "Chickpea curry." They tell him. Martin scrunches up his face in confusion, as Jon hadn't even looked at the menu. Picking up on his confusion they smile. "I've been here a while." Jon says in embarrassment. 

Flushing again, Martin looks away and scours the menu. He drums his fingers nervously along the tabletop as he reads. "How have you been?" Jon asks. 

Stuttering slightly, Martin tries to calm himself down and relax in their company. "Alright, there's been a weird vibe at work though." He says. 

Waving their fingers around in front of their face, Jon grins. "Spooky vibes?" They ask in a dramatic voice and Martin laughs at their silliness. 

Shaking his head as he chuckles, Martin meets Jon's eyes and notes the look of smugness on their face. "Not spooky, just your regular old work place drama." Martin explains. 

Pouting, Jon frowns. "Shame. We could have done a ghost watch with you guys." They say, a smug smile creeping onto their face. 

Shoving his nervousness deep down, Martin falls into the natural ease of talking to Jon. "Well…" he starts, a smirk on his face. "There are plenty of spooky stuff in artifact storage." He says. Jon looks slightly flustered at this, but grins anyway. "So what about you? Been overworking yourself?" Martin asks, with a teasing smile on his face.

Eyes widening, Jon's face answers that question. "No." They lie. "I've been fine." Jon says, looking at Martin in embarrassment. 

Shaking his head, Martin rolls his eyes fondly. "Well I'm glad you decided to take a break now." He says in amusement. 

Looking flustered, Jon looks down at the table. "Of course." They say softly. Martin smiles and opens his phone, clicking through the app. "The admiral's been confused today, as Georgie and Melanie went away yesterday." Jon tells him with a soft smile. 

Making a final few clicks on the app, then looks up and grins. "Aww! Poor baby." He coos. He slides the phone back into his pocket and leans his elbows on the table. "Where have they gone?" He asks. 

Glancing up at him, Jon leans their head on their fist. "Southampton. Melanie's parents live there." They explain. Martin nods along and quirks his lips. "So it's just me and cat for the weekend." They say. 

Holding back a laugh, Martin sniggers. "No house party then?" He jokes. Jon just gives him an unimpressed stare. 

The waiter walks towards them and places Martin's food down in front of him. "Excuse me Ma'am." He says to Jon, as their arms are on the table, not leaving enough room for their plate of food. Jon moves their arms, tucks their hair behind their ear and glances at the waiter with an indifferent expression on their face. The waiter's eyes widen and he looks at Jon with a panicked expression on his face. "Sorry! Sir!" He exclaims, quickly putting Jon's food down and backing away from the table, as Martin glares holes in the back of his skull. 

Before Martin can call after the waiter to stand up for Jon, they place a hand on top of Martin's. "It's fine." Jon says calmly. Martin breaks his death glare at the waiter to look at Jon in confusion. "It was a mistake. It makes a change to be mistaken for a woman though." Jon says and chuckles. Martin still looks like he wants to fight the waiter but relents and looks at their food instead. Rolling their eyes and smirking, Jon meets Martin's eyes. "You didn't have to order for me as well." They say softly. 

Biting his lip, Martin holds in a smile. He shrugs, trying to play it cool. "Might as well order it all together." He says, a slight quiver in his voice from the nerves and excitement thrumming through his veins. Jon raises an eyebrow at him, knowing full well that isn't why Martin ordered for both of them. When Jon doesn't add any more resistance, Martin feels a spark of confidence. He grins cheekily at them. "Next time you can pay." He teases. Jon lets out a surprised laugh and Martin feels proud to be privy to this side of Jon and not just the mask they wear around most people. 

Tucking into their food, they chat about what they've been up to recently, conversation flowing easily now that they have both relaxed a bit. A glass shatters behind the bar, and cheers are heard throughout the wetherspoons. Martin and Jon's conversation pauses and they look at each other in amusement. Jon rolls their eyes and Martin chuckles. The noise in the pub quickly quietens back down to normal chatter. "Okay but I still cannot believe you haven't watched Queer Eye!" Martin exclaims, giving Jon a look of bafflement. 

Sighing in fond exasperation, Jon rolls their eyes. "I don't watch much TV!" Jon says, trying to defend themself.

Grinning, Martin bites his lip. "We'll have to watch it together sometime?" He suggests hopefully, looking slightly flustered. 

Blinking in surprise, Jon is silent for a minute. Then they scrunch up their face in mock annoyance. "If we must." They sigh. Martin rolls his eyes at Jon and they let out a chuckle. Placing his knife and fork side by side on the now empty plate, Martin lets out a contented sigh and leans back in his chair. 

Taking a sip from their, mostly forgotten about, bottle of Kopperberg, Jon watches Martin stretch out in contentment. They take another fork full of food, slowly making their way through their own plate. "Are you going to get desert?" Jon asks, between mouthfuls. Martin glances up at them from what is almost a post food nap. He shrugs, leans back towards the table and pulls the menu over to glance at the options. 

Skimming the options, Martin runs his finger down the menu, reading all the options. "Have you already decided what you want?" He teases Jon, smirk on his lips. 

Looking from the remaining food on their plate to Martin, Jon pouts in thought. "Nah I'm not really hungry." They say. Martin's face falls slightly and he looks back down at the menu. Seeing Martin's smile drop, Jon stops to think. Putting a bright smile on their face, Jon slides the menu across the table towards themself. "So what are going to get? The chocolate fudge cake sounds delicious." They ask, subtly keeping an eye on Martin's expression. 

Looking slightly panicked, Martin stutters a few excuses out. "I don't know, I might leave it…" Martin says evasively, not meeting Jon's eyes. 

With a shrug, Jon goes back to finishing their curry. "We could always share one?" Jon suggests casually. Watching Martin's face, Jon sees a flush go across his cheeks and a smile start to creep back onto his face. Chuckling under his breath, Martin grins and nods shyly. "So what do you fancy?" Jon asks, sounding slightly smug. 

Rolling his eyes, Martin pulls the menu back and glances over it again. "Yea the fudge cake does sound nice." Martin reluctantly admits. Jon grins smugly back at him, making Martin shake his head and laugh at them. Pulling his phone back out, Martin orders it on the app. Pulling a leg underneath them on the chair, Jon adjusts their position and they take a swig of their drink. 

A waiter comes over with the cake and Martin glances up with a smile until he recognises them as the same one as earlier. His smile drops and he glares in his direction, but can't stop a nod of acknowledgement and thanks to the waiter. After placing it on the table, the waiter quickly scurries off and Martin turns away from him to Jon. He sees them smiling in amusement at him, Martin flushes and picks a fork up for a distraction. Taking a bite of the fudge cake, he hums in happiness. "That was a good suggestion." Martin tells them. Jon smiles softly at Martin and sips their drink. 

Offering Jon a fork, Martin looks at them expectantly. Jon huffs, but accepts the fork from him. They take a small bite of the cake and hum in pleasure. "Very good." Jon states, placing the fork back down. Martin smiles at their agreement and starts eating the cake. "Do you bake much?" Jon asks. 

Martin shrugs modestly. "I try to, when I have time." He says. Jon smiles and nods along, picking at the cake again. "Do you bake at all?" Martin asks, taking a forkful of cake himself. 

Spluttering out a laugh, Jon shakes their head. "No." They say empathically. Martin quirks his lips in amusement and raises an eyebrow at them in curiosity. Jon bites their lip in embarrassment. "Baking is not my strong suit." Jon says, chuckling awkwardly. 

Bursting into laughter, Martin grins widely at Jon. "But you can cook?" He exclaims. Jon leans back in their chair and chuckles under their breath. Martin smirks. "This sounds like not only do you not bake, but you can't bake!" He teases. 

Flushing, Jon's eyes widen and they don't meet Martin's eyes. "Maybe." Jon mutters. Martin just grins smugly at Jon. "Oh shut up!" Jon exclaims in amusement, as they roll their eyes. 

Gasping in betrayal, Martin chuckles. "I didn't say anything!" He argues. Jon playfully glares back at him. Putting his hands up in surrender, Martin laughs. "Fine, fine, we won't talk about your baking skills." He teases, going back to eating the dessert. 

Rolling their eyes, Jon nods primly, a smile starting to creep through the mask. "Thank you." Jon says. They have the last swig of their drink and move the empty plates and glasses out of their space. "So what's your favourite bake?" They ask. 

Pausing in thought, Martin ponders the question. "Probably the brownies. They're just so chocolatey and gooey." He says, smiling just at the memory of the brownies. 

"They did look tasty." Jon comments. Martin grins and then gestures to the remains of the chocolate cake in question. Jon shakes their head, so Martin finishes it. 

Leaning back in his chair and exhaling, Martin looks calculatingly at Jon. "You didn't really want any did you?" He asks. Jon's eyes widen and a guilty look crosses their face. "You had like 2 bites, you're not very subtle." He adds. 

Rolling their eyes, Jon chuckles at Martin. They hum in agreement. "And you really wanted one didn't you?" Jon teases. Martin flushes and blusters out vague denials. Jon raises an eyebrow and they meet each other's eyes and laugh. 

They smile softly at each other. A waitress comes along and clears away the empty plates and glasses. Martin smiles and nods at her in thanks. Jon glances down at the empty table and twiddles their fingers nervously. Martin glances over at Jon and bites his lip. "We should maybe get going then I guess?" He asks cautiously. Jon looks up at Martin and their smile drops slightly, but they hum in agreement. 

Starting to get their stuff together, Jon rummages around in their pockets for their headphones and pulls a beanie down over their hair. Martin pat's down his pockets for his wallet, keys and phone and watches Jon with an enamoured expression. When they walk out onto the pavement, they pause, glancing at each other and down the road. "I had a nice time. See you soon?" Jon says, as they put one headphone in their ear and gets ready to leave. 

Flushing bright red, Martin smiles goofily at him. "Same." He says, nodding enthusiastically at them. Jon turns to go and Martin desperately searches for anything to prolong the evening. "Wait!" Martin calls out. Jon turns and gives him a quizzical look. "Walk you home?" He asks nervously. 

Eyes widening in surprise, Jon turns back to face Martin. There's a pause, while Jon contemplates the offer and Martin shuffles his feet awkwardly. "On the condition that you let me order you an Uber?" Jon states, pointing a finger forcefully at him. 

Letting out a breath of relief, Martin grins back at them. "Deal." He says excitedly. Jon smiles and gestures for Martin to walk next to them. They stroll down the street together, and Martin glances at Jon's headphones in curiosity. "What would you be listening to now?" He asks. 

Looking a touch flustered, Jon pulls their phone out and makes a few clicks on it. They hand the other headphone to Martin, who takes it gratefully and puts it in his ear. The sounds of a thumping beat fills his ears and a silky woman's voice trickles in. Martin scrunches his face up in confusion. "What language is this even in?" Martin asks, amusement laced through his voice. 

Huffing, Jon shoves their hands into their pockets to keep them warm in the evening chill. "Early modern English." Jon states, with a quirk of their lips. Martin just turns to Jon and blinks in confusion at them. Sighing, Jon turns to Martin to explain. "Think Shakespeare." They add. 

Eyes lighting up in realisation, Martin grins. "I do love Shakespeare." He tells them. 

Jon rolls their eyes and chuckles. "Poetry?" They question distastefully. Martin shyly looks down at his feet as he walks. "I suppose each to their own." Jon mutters. 

Crossing his arms in mock outrage, Martin turns to Jon and huffs. "Says the person listening to Shakespearean music!" He teases. Jon gasps in betrayal and gives Martin a gentle shove. He laughs and shoves Jon back. They bicker back and forth for a couple of minutes, until Jon slows down and grabs Martin's sleeve to stop him from walking past the gate. Jon gestures up the path towards the door. Martin chuckles in embarrassment and opens the metal gate and holds it open for Jon. They smile, face looking flustered as they walk up the path. 

Standing on the doorstep, Jon pulls their phone out and pulls up the Uber app and hands it to Martin to put his address in. Once the cab is ordered Jon leans back against the door and twirls a strand of hair around their fingers. Martin shoves his hands in his pockets and shuffles on his feet. "I had a great time tonight." Martin says softly, eyes flicking down to Jon's lips. They reach up to brush a bit of hair out of their face and tuck it behind their ear, interrupting Martin's gaze. 

The soft amber light of the street lamps lights up Martin's face and Jon smiles softly. "Same." They murmur. Meeting eyes, the two of them share a soft look. Jon opens their mouth to say something, but then a car pulls up and honks its horn, alerting them the Uber has arrived. A slightly disappointed look flickers across Martin's face and he gives a little wave as he turns to go. "Come over tomorrow?!" Jon bursts out, before Martin can get in the cab. 

Horror at their outbursts fills Jon's face and they stare in mute horror as Martin turns around. "I'd love to." He calls out, a wide grin filling his face. Martin climbs into the car and Jon's head thumps back against the door, heart beating erratically in their chest. They stand there staring out at where the car was, long after it has driven off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The band Jon is listening to at the end is Theatre of Tradgedy btw.


	20. Cuddly ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to blame the delay on Rusty Quill as I have been binge listening to RQG recently, totally not my fault.

Shuffling about on Jon's doorstep, Martin frets. He adjusts the collar of his shirt and pulls his soft blue jumper down. He chews his lip and worries that Jon will have regretted inviting him over by now. Taking a deep breath, he rings the doorbell. A few minutes later the door opens to reveal Jon. They are wearing black leggings, a leather skirt and what looks like a well-worn band t-shirt. Lighting up when they see Martin standing there, Jon smiles and gestures him inside. Stuttering slightly at how attractive Jon is right now, Martin shuffles inside and attempts not to stare. "Morning." Jon says in greeting, as they close the door behind him. Martin follows them into the living room, where Jon collapses onto the sofa and sprawls out.

Chuckling, Martin perches on the other sofa. "Sleep well?" He asks. Jon grunts and slumps further down the sofa. Martin laughs. "You, er, look really good today." He says nervously, his cheeks flushing red. 

Turning their head to look at Martin, Jon looks at him in silence for a minute. Having decided something about his expression, Jon looks down at their outfit and nervously fingers the edge of the skirt. Looking a touch flustered, Jon glances back at Martin with a soft look. "Thanks… so do you." They say quietly. Martin flushes and bites his lip to stop the wide grin from spreading across his face. 

Picking up a packet of love hearts next to them, Jon glances at the words on the sweet with a smile and pops it in their mouth. "I had a good time last night." Martin says shyly, watching Jon's expression before quickly looking away when they meet his eyes. 

Quirking their lips, Jon nods in acknowledgement. "Me too." They say quietly. Their eyes meet and the fond look in Martin's eyes is too much for Jon, who looks away. Shoving the sliver of hope creeping into their heart deep down, Jon tries not to think of the rejection to come when they finally put words to their feelings. "Want some?" Jon asks him, gesturing with the packet of love hearts in his direction. 

Blinking in confusion at the change of topic, Martin shrugs his shoulders with indifference. Jon gives him a questioning look, not sure what that means. "Sure." Martin clarifies nervously. Nodding, Jon pulls the next one out, noting the words 'hunk' on it and throws it across to Martin. 

Spluttering in surprise, Martin scrambles to catch it. With only minor flailing he just about succeeds and mock glares at Jon for the lack of warning. They snigger, looking unrepentant. Martin glances at the word on it and rolls his eyes and throws it into his mouth. "Georgie and Melanie having a nice time?" He asks. 

Humming, Jon nods. "Yea, Melanie's parents adore Georgie." They tell him in amusement. Martin chuckles. 

"That's cute." He says. Jon laughs and shakes his head. They pull another love heart out and read the words 'Hug me' on it before it gets eaten. "How long have they been together?" Martin asks them. 

Screwing up their face in concentration they think back. "Good lord, probably nearly five years now." Jon tells him, slight existential crisis going on in their head at the years that have passed. Martin's eyes widen. Shaking their head, they pull another sweet out and pull a face at it. 'sweet kiss' Jon throws it over to Martin, with a look of distaste on their face. 

The sweet lands on Martin's jumper and he glares at Jon again. He opens his mouth to tell them off, but then catches sight of the words 'sweet kiss' on it and falters. Blush spreading rapidly over his cheeks. Taking a minute to compose himself, Martin rolls his eyes fondly at Jon. Movement at the door startles him and he looks over to see the Admiral trotting in. Jon's face lights up at his entrance and the cat swishes his tail happily at them. "Hello Mister." Martin says in greeting. 

The cat turns and assesses him. Martin's eyes widen at the intense stare and he glances at Jon. "Sir. Not Mister." Jon teases. Martin lets out a startled laugh. 

Reaching his hand out towards the Admiral, Martin attempts to apologize. "Sorry  _ sir  _ cat." He says in amusement. Jon grins smugly when the Admiral starts walking towards Martin and sniffing his hand. Martin happily scratches behind his ears and smooths his fur down his back. "Who's a handsome boy?" He coos. The admiral meows in response, turns around so his butt is in Martin's face and swishes his tail. Martin splutters around the fur and laughs. 

The admiral struts across the room towards Jon. They smile softly at him and scratches between his ears. They take two sweets out of the packet, glancing at the words and tossing one into their mouth and one to Martin. The cat meows in annoyance at being ignored and leaps up onto their lap. Jon lets out an "oomph" as his paws press into their stomach. Martin manages to catch the sweet this time and grins proudly and looks down to read it. The admiral circles on Jon and then curls up tightly as Jon absentmindedly strokes him. 

"Kiss me." Martin says. 

Without glancing up from the cat, Jon scrunches their face up in distaste. "I don't really like kissing." They say absentmindedly, continuing to stroke the cat. 

"Oh." Martin says in surprise, eyes wide and focused on Jon. Realising what they just said, Jon startles and stares at Martin in shock. The admiral meows in protest of the sudden movement of his bed. They stare at each other and Jon notes that Martin is still holding the love heart saying 'kiss me' they'd thrown over a minute ago. Jon's stomach sinks and their brain freezes, not knowing how to end this silence. Looking away from him, Jon sighs and goes back to fussing the cat. "...can we talk about it?" Martin asks nervously. 

Running a hand through their hair in frustration, Jon huffs, clear walls come up behind their eyes. "Is there anything else to say?" They snipe back. 

Flinching slightly at their tone, Martin grips the edges of his jumper tightly. "Yes. I think there is." He states, giving Jon a stern look. They glower back at him for a minute, but quickly gives in to Martin and nods in agreement. 

Martin gulps and breathes in, trying to focus his thoughts so that he doesn't say the wrong thing. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. So I guess I just roughly want to understand?" Martin asks, watching Jon's expressions closely. 

Looking at him in surprise, Jon considers him. "I… I'm a sex-repulsed asexual." They say cautiously. 

Smiling softly, Martin leans back slightly on the sofa, getting himself more settled and comfortable. "What does that mean for you?" He asks. 

Stroking the cat to relieve some of their nerves, Jon warily watches Martin, as if waiting for something. "I'm fine with a lot of casual touches, I mean you've met my friends, but anything more…  _ intimate…  _ I'm not really comfortable with." Jon explains, face contorting in discomfort. 

Flushing at his own thoughts, Martin gives Jon a ruthfull smile. "Thank you for trusting me with that." He says. Jon nods in acknowledgement, still looking incredibly uncomfortable. Picking at the edge of his sleeve, Martin bites his lip. "How does that relate to romantic relationships?" He asks, hope fluttering in his chest. 

Jon looks away from Martin, not meeting his eyes. They stare down at the floor. "I don't really date. People always want more than I can give." Jon mutters. 

Tilting his head, Martin looks at them sadly. "But do you want a partner?" He asks. 

Huffing in irritation, Jon meets Martin's eyes and glares. "I told you! People always want more." They snap at him. 

Rolling his eyes at them, Martin glares back. "Excluding that physical aspect, would you like a relationship?" He asks, trying to stay calm and understand Jon's reluctance to openly discuss this. 

A hint of hope flickers in Jon's eyes and they sigh. "Yes. I would." They say softly, scruffing the cat's fur. 

Grinning at getting that honesty out of Jon, Martin feels the butterflies in his stomach flutter in excitement. "Do you want to go on a proper date with me?" He asks, excitement and nerves thrumming through his veins. 

Blinking in surprise, Jon stares at Martin. "But I… you?" They stutter out. Martin just grins at Jon expectantly. "I… yes okay." Jon says, sounding unsure. Martin's expression breaks out into a goofy smile. A smile starts to creep onto Jon's lips. They both just grin at each other in silence for a while. A smirk starts to spread across Jon's lips. "Yesterday wasn't a proper date then?" They tease. 

Martin's cheeks flush bright pink and his eyes widen. He stutters out some unintelligible words. "I don't know! I didn't want to assume wrong!" Martin exclaims. Jon sniggers and grins back at him. Martin bites his lip and shakes his head at them.

Expression turning thoughtful, Jon looks over at Martin and contemplates something. "So… not wanting to assume wrong," Jon says, teasing smirk creeping onto their face. "When Georgie and Melanie interrogate me tonight about our 'date', can I tell them you're my boyfriend now?" They ask making finger quotes in the air. Martin's unimpressed stare, turns into surprise. 

Looking at Jon shyly, cheeks now a permanent pink, Martin nods. "I'd like that." He says, trying to contain a grin. 

A smile of relief spreads across Jon's face and Martin notices how much more relaxed they look now. Jon holds the cat up slightly to adjust their legs, much to the Admiral's displeasure. Once Jon is sitting upright, they catch Martin's eye and nod towards the seat next to them. "Come here?" They ask shyly. Cautiously getting up off his sofa, Martin steps over and nervously sits down. Jon rolls their eyes and reaches a hand out for Martin's, carefully watching his expression. After receiving no objection, they lace their fingers together and leans their shoulder against Martin's. 

Slowly relaxing into their position, Martin smiles and rubs his thumb gently across the back of Jon's hand. "What about you? What words fit you best?" Martin asks. 

Taking a minute to consider, Jon tucks some of their hair behind their ear. "I guess, something like partner? Or significant other?" Jon says, mostly thinking out loud. Martin nods in thought. "The only relationship that's really got to that point, was Georgie, and I was still figuring myself out then, so I just used boyfriend." Jon explains, dropping their head down onto Martin's shoulder. 

There's silence for a minute and then Martin turns his head towards Jon. "You and Georgie used to date?" He asks, a slight frown on his face. 

Freezing, Jon looks up at him. "Yes? ...Have I not mentioned that before?" They ask warily. 

Catching the wary tone in Jon's voice, Martin jumps slightly. "Ooh! It doesn't matter!" He exclaims. Squeezing Jon's hand reassuringly, Martin rubs soothing circles with his thumb. "It just surprised me, most people don't live with their ex." Martin explains. 

Untensing their shoulders, Jon sinks back into Martin's side. "Yea I suppose that's true." Jon says with a chuckle. 

They sit in a comfortable silence for a minute, before Martin's curiosity gets the better of him. "So what happened? If you don't mind me asking." He says. 

Looking up at Martin in amusement, Jon purses their lips, as they decide whether to answer or not. After making him fidget impatiently for a minute, Jon sighs. "Well, we met in Oxford, when we were both doing our degrees. We had a history class together and being the only black people in the class, we kind of drifted together for projects and stuff." Jon begins, Martin listening intently and nodding along to their story. "We ended up being together just over 2 years? But by the time we finished uni, Georgie realised that we could be friends and it wouldn't really change anything." Jon says, pausing nervously and twirling a strand of hair around their fingers. "I went back to Brighton and she moved to London." Jon tells him.

Realising that Jon isn't going to elaborate any more without prompting, Martin rolls his eyes. "So how did you two end up living together then?" He asks in amusement. 

"Oh." Jon says, sounding surprised. "I was working at Brighton museum, living with my grandmother again. Then when she passed away, out of habit I called Georgie. She offered to let me stay on her sofa while the house sale and stuff went through. I was still searching for a flat when her roommate decided to move out and live with her boyfriend, so I moved from the sofa, to the now spare room and it worked, so we both stopped searching." Jon explains, giving Martin a shrug. 

Chuckling at the idea of Jon being that house guest that just never left, he shakes his head in amusement. "I'm sorry about your grandmother, but I'm glad you had such a good friend to support you." Martin tells them. 

Squeezing his hand, Jon smiles in thanks. They are quiet for a minute, in remembrance of their family. Shaking off the sadness, Jon quirks their lips in the beginnings of a smirk. "Your turn then, tell me about your exes?" They tease, nudging him in the side with their elbow. 

Martin starts choking on nothing in surprise and Jon gives him a startled look. He flushes and avoids Jon's eyes. After stuttering out a few failed starts, Martin sighs. "I don't really have any exes, so to speak…" he says reluctantly. 

Blinking in surprise, Jon shrugs. "Okay. That doesn't matter?" They say, confusion laced through their voice. 

Sighing again, Martin bites his lip nervously. He glances to Jon's face and then quickly away. "I just don't want you to change your mind because I've only really… done hookups before…" Martin explains, fingers tensing in Jon's hand. 

Eyes widening, Jon looks down at their joined hands. "Oh." They murmur. Running their free hand through their hair, Jon contemplates their feelings. "You don't have to be ashamed of having had sex Martin." They state. 

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Martin smiles. "I mean yeah, but it's hard when so many people tell you otherwise." He says with a shrug. 

Grimacing in sympathy, Jon lets out a humourless chuckle. "Trust me, they've been telling me the opposite for years. You can't win." They tell him. 

Martin lets out a surprised laugh. "We're a right pair aren't we?" He jokes. Jon elbows him in the ribs, but he can see the amusement in their face. Jon settles their head back down onto Martin's shoulder and snuggles into his side, where they can feel his laughter still vibrating through him. Martin begins to settle and gazes fondly down at Jon. Butterflies flutter in his stomach and with a surge of courage, he kisses Jon's forehead. They don't look up, but Martin sees a smile creeping into their lips and they squeeze his hand. Grinning goofily, he does his best to savour this moment and seer it into his memories. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're actually together!!! We made it!! Hope you like it :)


	21. Ghost of a smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow have still not done more writing but it has been so long I thought I'd post my last reserve chapter and hope that kicks my brain back into the zone.

The curser on the blank word document flashes unnoticed by Tim, who is _trying_ to watch Sasha sneakily over the monitor. She is furiously typing away at her own keyboard, but thankfully for Tim, hasn't shut the door to her office. He ponders the crease between her eyebrows and the tight line of her lips. She glances over at him and catches him in the act, she raises her eyebrow at him questioningly. He gives her an apologetic shrug and she rolls her eyes and goes back to her work. Looking away from her, he taps his fingers on his desk and wracks his brains for what could have upset her. His phone vibrates on the desk and he opens up the unread text. 

**GP Tim**

Hey are you okay? 

You seemed a bit distracted last night?

Yeah! Sorry, just got stuff on my mind

I'm here to listen if you want?

Nah it's fine, thanks thou!

If you're sure

Don't know what you did, but Bertie seems to like you! 

Hahaha well why wouldn't he?? ;)

Right, sorry, forgot about your huge ego! 

It matches my personality :)

Of course 

I'm afraid Bertie did let slip a little secret ;)

No… 

No way does he like you that much?! 

Uhuh 

I have been betrayed 

Yep. Told me all about your criminal past! 

I can't believe it 

Its true! 

Damn it, I will have a word with him later 

And you doubted my charm ;)

You have certainly proved that now

Thank you. I will accept the apology in writing 

You're ridiculous 

I aim to please

The door swings open and Martin walks in humming a happy little tune. "Good morning!" He exclaims, giving Tim a bright grin. Tim stares at him in bafflement as Martin almost skips across the room to his desk. He looks over his monitor to see Sasha giving Martin an equally confused look. She notices him looking and gives him an amused look and nods in Martin's direction questioningly. Tim bites his lip to hold back a laugh and shrugs, shaking his head at her. 

In unison both Sasha and Tim turn their attention back to Martin, who is currently gazing down at his phone and typing away to someone. Standing up and coming out of her office, Sasha leans against the door frame. "Your date went well then I presume?" She teases. 

Tim gasps. "What! You went on a date?!" He exclaims. Martin startles, but the goofy grin doesn't leave his face as he looks up at them. His cheeks flush pink and he bites his lip. Tim's eyes widen with excitement. Martin glances from Sasha to Tim and then nods shyly, his grin somehow getting even wider. Tim gasps and shoots up, chair clattering backwards. "Yes! Tell us everything!" He exclaims, hurrying over to Martin to give him a big hug. 

Chuckling softly, Martin reaches around to pat Tim on the back. Tim murmurs something incoherent into Martin's neck. "Turns out Jon does like me like that." Martin says softly. 

Clapping her hands excitedly, Sasha lets out a cheer. "Didn't I tell you! You just had to ask them out!" She tells him, grinning widely at him. 

Once he has managed to extricate himself from a koala Tim, Martin smiles at her and rolls his eyes. "Yea, thanks for the push." He says softly. 

She puts her hands on her hips and smirks at him. "You're welcome, now give us the deets!" She says sweetly. Tim looks at Sasha with pride and gives her a nod. She smiles, but he can't help but feel that it's not reaching her eyes. Sasha looks back towards Martin expectantly and Tim feels a hollowness in his chest. 

A notification flashes on Martin's phone and from his vantage point next to the desk, Tim peers over Martin's shoulder to read it. He whistles when he realises Jon is the one texting him. Martin spins and slaps a hand over his phone to stop Tim reading it. He flushes and looks desperately towards Sasha. She raises an eyebrow and pointedly stays silent. With a sigh, Martin gives in. "Fine. Yes. Me and Jon are together now." He says trying to sound begrudging, but he can't help the excitement that creeps into his voice. 

Simultaneously bursting into cheers, both Sasha and Tim swarm over to him and engulf him in their hugs. Martin splutters in amusement as he gets buried beneath them. "So happy for you." Sasha murmurs softly. He hugs them back, but eventually has to push them off when they make no move to end the hug. 

Jumping up onto his own desk, Tim swings his legs back and forth, grinning widely at Martin. "So, tell us what happened." He prompts. 

Martin drops his head down onto his hands and peeks at them through his fingers. "It was such a good evening." He sighs happily. "Neither of us wanted to leave, so I offered to walk them home…" Martin continues. 

"Smooth." Tim comments. Sasha nods her head approvingly. 

Rolling his eyes, Martin ignores his comments and continues with his story. "And they invited me over the next day…" he says, pausing for their gasps. They both exclaim in amazement and watch him with wide eyes. "We ended up talking about our feelings and we held hands!! And cuddled up on the sofa all morning!" He exclaims excitedly, basically vibrating in his seat. 

"Awww!!" Sasha coos. 

Raising an eyebrow suggestively, Tim smirks at him. "As you were going over the following day, did you end up sleeping there as well?" He teases, emphasising the 'sleeping' with an obnoxious wink.

Freezing in place, Martin stares at Tim in surprise. "No!" He exclaims. Sasha glares at Tim and whacks him on the arm. He splutters in indignation, but holds his hands up in surrender to Sasha's attack. "That may have worked for you and Tim, but not everyone is like that." Martin tells him. 

Noticing that Martin's voice has an edge of seriousness in it, rather than just the usual embarrassment, he drops it. "You're right. Sorry." He says, smiling ruthfully in apology. Martin's face relaxes and he grins, nodding in acknowledgement. 

Without looking at Tim, Sasha straightens up and brushes her hands down her skirt. "Right. I think it's time we did some work." She says. Martin nods and murmurs apologies for distracting everyone. Sasha nods and turns, walking into the office. Unlike earlier the door clicks firmly behind her. Tim stares in confusion at the closed door, biting his lip in thought. 

Once he is sure Tim isn't paying him any more attention, Martin picks his phone up and checks his texts. He grins and lets out a chuckle, before quickly typing out a reply. 

**Jon <3 **

Good morning. Hope you slept well?

Morning! Yes I did thanks and you?

Eventually, yes.

What was on your mind? 

If you don't mind me asking!!

Oh nothing, Georgie and Melanie just kept me up to interrogate me.

Oooh. You told them then? 

They are persistent.

Haha! 

How about your friends?

...they were excited 

That sounds… scary?

Probably a similar reaction to Melanie and Georgie 

Oh Christ 

I'm glad thou, it feels real

Well of course, what else would it be?

I don't know! 

Still flushing in embarrassment Martin puts his palm over his mouth to stop from letting any noise out. He stares down at the messages and tries to form his thoughts into a coherent explanation. He almost misses Tim getting up, even though he stands up quick enough for the chair to scrape back noisily. He watches as Tim walks over to Sasha's office with a file in his hands. Just before he goes back to his phone, Tim raises a hand and knocks on the door. Martin stares in shock. Even if she puts a sign on her door Tim has a habit of bursting in without knocking. He scrunches his face up in thought and considers the slight awkwardness between the two earlier. Tim opens the door and goes in, leaving Martin staring at an empty door. He shrugs and goes back to his conversation with Jon. 

Meanwhile, Tim closes the door behind him and places the file in the correct slot and pauses to take in Sasha. She's sat resolutely typing away on her laptop, her hair is tied back into a ponytail and the sleeves of her beige turtleneck jumper are pulled down into sweater paws. She looks up and raises her eyebrow at him, making me realise he's been watching her a little bit too long to be considered normal. He startles and gives her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I just… are you doing okay?" He cautiously asks. 

Her blank eyes stare back at him for a moment, before a mask comes up and she smiles. "I'm fine Tim." She tells him. He gives her a disbelieving look and the mask slips. She sighs and sinks into her chair. "It's nothing." She murmurs. 

Crossing his arms across his chest, Tim leans his hip against her desk and gives her a look. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asks gently. Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head. He sighs. "Okay. But just know you can tell me anything." He says, expression serious for a minute. 

Smiling softly, Sasha nods. "Thanks." She murmurs. He leans in and hugs her, leaning precariously over the desk. She chuckles and hugs him back tightly. 

He takes a couple of steps towards the door, with only a minor stumble, before pausing and turning back to her. "You still on for movie night?" He asks hopefully. 

Looking up, Sasha has a fake smile on her face. "What no date this week?" She teases, although it comes out less jokingly and more bitter than she intended. 

Taking a sharp intake of breath at her words, Tim's smile drops for a second. Quickly covering his hurt, he puts a big grin on his face. "Nope. I'm all yours if you want me?" He says with a smirk and a wink. 

She flushes and looks down at her laptop to hide her face. After a moment to compose herself, she looks back up at smiles. "Fine. But I get to choose the movie." She demands. Tim lets out a breath of relief and chuckles. He purses his lips as if in thought and then nods. "Great." She says brightly, before going back to her laptop. 

Turning and walking out at her clear dismissal, Tim glances back over his shoulder and tries to read her expression. With a confused expression, he shuts the door behind him and goes back to his desk. He leans back in his chair and glances over at Martin. He has a soft smile on his face and is typing away on his phone. Tim pulls out his own phone and sees a message from GP Tim and sighs. He prepares himself for an awkward conversation. 

**GP Tim**

Hey, can we talk?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea when the next chapter will be here but your messages all mean the world to me x

**Author's Note:**

> This took way too much research and and is heavily based on the video BuzzFeed Unsolved did on the Viaduct Tavern so watch that if you want to know more about it.


End file.
